Earth Dwellers Rejoice for a Moment

Transcript

GR 2022
11/19/2017
Earth Dwellers Rejoice for a Moment
Revelation 11:7-14
Gil Rugh

The word is rich and full and the Book of Revelation is sometimes greatly misunderstood. As I mentioned, we don’t understand everything. There are certain things that we have looked at that we say, “well, we don’t know for sure here, but basically, God gave it to be understood.” We’ve reminded ourselves, there’s blessing on those who read, those who hear, and those who heed and even though most of the Book of Revelation is about things that have yet to take place, they are to shape the way we live. Prophecy is not just to satisfy curiosity. Prophecy is to enable us to know, appreciate and understand our God more clearly and fully and to live in light of what He has said, what He has revealed about Himself, and what He’s revealed about this world, and it keeps our lives in proper perspective.

We’re in Revelation chapter 11 and as we noted, we’ve come to an interlude in the Book of Revelation. We have come to the middle point of that seven-year period. Leave a marker in Revelation 11 and come back to Daniel, chapter 9 if you would. We’re not going to do much review on this but just draw your attention to a verse here, Daniel chapter nine. We’re in that period of time in Revelation chapters 6 to 19, called the seventieth week of Daniel, the final seven-year period that climaxes with the return of Christ to this earth, in Revelation chapter 19. In Daniel chapter, nine verse 27, we are told and he, and the he refers back to the prince who is to come in verse 26. We’ll meet that man briefly in our study this morning. He’ll be called the beast. We’ll see that. This man, the one who is to come, the beast, the prince who is to come will make a firm covenant with the many, referring to Israel from prior context of the chapter, for one seven year period. In the middle of that week of years, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and we’ve reminded ourselves of this a number of times.

We have a seven-year period that will climax with the return of Christ. In the middle of that seven-year period momentous changes occur. It is all a time of judgment. We have looked at the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments, but now when we come to the middle, things take even a more drastic turn for the worst, particularly for the nation Israel. For the first three and a half years Israel has been enjoying peace in light of the covenant this leader of the western world signs with Israel. The temple has been rebuilt; that’s indicated here by where it said, “in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” You could not have sacrifice, without the temple and other passages indicate the temple is rebuilt. We’ll see that in Revelation 11 again, but the temple has been rebuilt during that first three and a half years.

In the middle of the week, that middle of the seven-year period, things change and there is going to be the most concentrated effort to annihilate the Jews from the face of the earth that has ever taken place in the history of the world. This will be Satan’s last and greatest attempt to destroy the nation, the one God has chosen for Himself. Come back to Revelation chapter 11 and the chapter opened up, a section we’ve already looked at, where John is given a vision and in this vision he is instructed to measure the temple. Remember John is writing this about 95 A.D., the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., so there has been no operational temple in the city of Jerusalem for twenty-five years as John writes this, and he’s writing it from the Isle of Patmos. He’s not in Jerusalem but he’s given a vision of a coming temple, and he is to measure that temple and the altar in verse one and those who worship in it.

We looked at Old Testament passages. This measuring indicates that God will preserve His people, the Jews. The outer court, which is the court of the Gentiles (and we looked at the diagram of that) has been given to the nations. The end of verse two, they’ll “tread it under foot,” under foot the holy city, “for forty-two months,” so God promises preservation for His people, and this is going to be in the context when Jerusalem itself is under great pressure. Forty-two months is the last half of that seven-year period. Great attention is being given to that in these sections because God is doing two things with this seven-year period.

Number 1. He is pouring out His wrath and judgment on an unbelieving world, but remember, this seven-year period is part of the seventy weeks of Daniel, which are particularly directed toward the nation Israel and the city of Jerusalem, so that’s why they’ll tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months. There has been an artificial peace, if you will, for the first forty-two months of that seven-year period. Now everything changes for Israel and there will be a concentrated attack and attempt to destroy the nation. We’ve looked at some of the references to this. We’ll get more into this when we get into chapter 12 and into chapter 13 of Revelation, so in the series of judgments, we’ve come to the middle.

After the sixth trumpet, which ended chapter nine, of the trumpet judgments, the seventh trumpet is to sound. When the seventh trumpet is sounded and the events come, we’ll have the seven bowl judgments, which culminate with the return of Christ to earth. Then we have the kingdom, so chapters 10 through 14 are an interlude, a pause in the flow of that series of judgments, the seals, the trumpets, the bowls to tell us about events that begin in the middle of that seven-year period and carry to the end. They’ll be telling us a number of things that happened that begin in the middle and go to the end, because God’s intention with this portion of that seven-year period is to finally bring Israel as a nation to salvation so that will be fulfilled. Romans 11 said, “all Israel will be saved.” That does not mean every single Jew, and many Jews will die in the persecution, but by the time we get to the end of this seven-year period, the nation as a nation will turn to Christ as their Messiah

We’re told the temple has been rebuilt but now there is persecution breaking out and then we saw two witnesses raised up by God. In His grace, in the midst of the most terrible judgments the world has seen, and in the midst of the worst time for Israel, God raises up two individuals. Then verse three, “I will grant authority to My two witnesses, they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days . . . .” Again, in some of the ordering of events in Revelation it may not be as clear. What’s clear, there are two witnesses; they prophesy what their ministry is and the impact of their ministry. Some would put them in the first half of that seven-year period, some in the second half; I’m in the second half. Everybody’s agreed, when I say everybody in that kind of context, I’m only talking about those who take the Book of Revelation literally.

There’s all kinds of views on Revelation once you abandon clear, historical, grammatical hermeneutics, but even among those who do, some would think the witnesses fit better in the first three and a half years.

One of the things among others but for right now, as I’ve mentioned are the fact that all other time references refer to the last half. For example the forty-two months at the end of verse two, refers to the last half, that’s when Jerusalem will be under particular pressure from the nations. Down in chapter 12 at the end of verse six, where Israel will be nourished one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Everyone who takes the revelation literally refers that to the last half of the tribulation. In verse 14 of chapter 12, Israel is nourished for a time, two times, and a half time, drawn from the Book of Daniel. Everybody agrees that’s referring to the last half. Then when you come down to chapter 13 verse five, authority is given to this beast, the prince who is to come for forty-two months. Everybody agrees that’s the last half. I think it’s consistent, all the references, forty-two months, twelve hundred and sixty days, a time, two times and a half time are referring to the last three and a half years, so that along with other things causes me to think the two witnesses are ministering during that last time and that’s when their ministry is really needed.

They stand out in a way that they would not at any other time, because as the world is being destroyed and as the Jews are under such pressure, as the devil attempts to annihilate them, there are two men standing in Jerusalem, and proclaiming the message of God. Then you see something of God’s mercy even in this worst of times as He calls men to salvation through these witnesses and prophesies of judgment to come. We talked about the two witnesses. Their ministry is key. There’s no disagreement here, they have a supernatural ministry as prophets.

They are “divinely protected” verse five. We’ve looked at that if anyone wants to hurt them or kill them, fire comes out of their mouth. We looked back at the similarity of that with Elijah, when the king sent contingents of fifty soldiers to arrest Elijah. He just said, “if I’m a man of God may fire come down from God and consume you” and that happens repeatedly, so these men have that kind of protection. That’s what it means, fire comes out of their mouth, just like Elijah when he spoke and he called down fire. They can do other powerful miracles in addition to what’s going on, with the judgments that we’ve seen under the seals, the trumpets that are coming, under the bowls. They have the power, verse six, to “shut up the sky, rain won’t fall, turn waters to blood, bring plagues on the earth.”

We’ve seen that by the time we get to the middle here, half the earth’s population has been killed. Roughly, we had the population statistics 3.5 billion people have died and the worst is yet to come. We spent a little sidetrack to look at the identity of these two witnesses, because some think they’re Old Testament saints brought back for special ministry like Elijah. Those who hold that view always have Elijah as one of them and we looked at the reasons. The other is either Moses or Enoch in that thinking and that’s a possibility. The other possibility is they’re just two prophetic men God raises up at this time but have ministries very similar to Old Testament prophets. I indicated that would be my preference in understanding it but either way the kind of ministry and the impact of their ministry is the same.

All right, their ministry has been to be a witness, to prophesy for three and a half years, so you see we carry from the beginning of their ministry at the middle of that seven-year to the end, because their ministry is for forty-two months, so we pick them up. We’re told briefly what their ministry involves, and its power and impact and it is worldwide. It is centered in Jerusalem, because the prime focus is the Jews, but it is worldwide and we can understand that today. We watch the news and see something good is happening in Jerusalem or another city of the world. Early readers understood little of how it could have that kind of impact but we understand it today.

For three and a half years, that supernatural ministry goes forth in Jerusalem and then goes out into the world. You see what is happening as they testify to God’s wrath on unbelieving people, and His mercy I take it in telling the world of the Savior God has provided, and they validate what they’re saying by the miracles they do. You think these men are indestructible and they are, for forty-two months because then verse seven picks up, “when they have finished their testimony.” They are untouchable; they cannot be killed until they have completed the work that God gave them to do. “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes out of the abyss will make war with them, overcome them and kill them.”

This context of finished, turn back to 2 Timothy chapter four. Second Timothy is Paul’s last letter, you remember, he’s in prison. He is aware that he will not survive this event. He said the process that is going to culminate in my death has already begun, so he’s aware of that. Verse six; “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, the time of my departure has come,” so Paul’s aware and during prior imprisonments he had been set free and so on, but he’s aware this time. It’s not because the enemy has gotten stronger but as he goes on, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith, henceforth in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” His work is done so “there is the future for me. The Lord will award it to me on that day.” He’s finished, verse seven, “I have finished the course.” That word finished is the same word that we have translated finished in Revelation 11 regarding these men. My work is done. I have completed what God has for me so now it’s time. From the enemies’ standpoint it looks like a victory. We’ll see that in chapter 11 with the two witnesses. Those who were opposed to Paul thought they had defeated him. Not at all. He had completed his work.

I want you to look at two passages. Come back to the Book of Job, chapter 14. Job probably the oldest book we have in the bible in the sense of describing those events. Probably he would have been a contemporary of someone like Abraham. We get that partly because there’s no reference to the Mosaic Law and things like that and other activity going on, but note how the chapter begins as Job speaks.

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower, he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain,” but note verse five then. “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You;” he’s referring to God, “His limits you have set so that he cannot pass.” It’s important for us, and it’s encouraging for us to be reminded, there are no mistakes, no accidents. We don’t look at Paul and say too bad he couldn’t have lived longer and had an even greater impact, too bad the two witnesses have such a short ministry, it’s too bad someone got hit by a car, got a disease. You understand our days are numbered. The number of our months is with God. His limits, He has set them, nobody goes beyond them.

Come over to Psalms just after Job, Psalm 139. Looking at these, because what is said about these two witnesses is true for all of us as God’s people. It’s true of everybody in the world but for us it has that special importance. Note how chapter 139 opens up: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand My thought from afar. Even before there is a word on my tongue,” verse four, “O Behold Lord, You know it all.” It is the absolute omniscience of God. He knows everything before anything takes place. He knows every detail of it. Down in verse 12, “even the darkness is not dark to You,” that’s why we don’t have to be afraid in the dark. The Lord sees me in the dark as well as in the light and cares for me as well. Come down to verse 16. “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; in Your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” You see how sovereign God is.

Think about that, 3.5 billion people in the world have already died when we come to chapter 11 and not one of them missed his appointed day. I mean how sovereign God is. This is true for everyone. For us as believers we take great comfort in it. For the unbeliever he lives his life as a fool, that’s what Jesus said. “You fool! This night your soul will be required of you,” and you’re not ready, you’re not prepared. For us it’s a comfort but there are no mistakes in my life, there are no accidents. It won’t be, O boy, if that only hadn’t happened, if that didn’t. Whatever the Lord uses is sovereign so come back to Revelation 11.

It doesn’t take away from the sinfulness of these men but even the acts of sinful men are included in the plan of God for accomplishing His purposes. They don’t cut these men’s ministry short. God says it’s complete. There’s a difference. Now the fact that these men in their sin, and their sinful rebellion against God are instruments that kill Him, and kill them doesn’t change the fact, God had planned that and planned even to use their sinful rebellion, to accomplish His purposes. What an awesome God we have, so verse seven, “when they have finished their testimony” it’s complete. It’s come to its appointed end. “The beast that comes out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.”

The beast, this is the first of thirty-six references to this man from here on in the Book of Revelation. You can see now, we’re narrowing in on events that have particular significance for the nation Israel. Thirty-six times this man’s going to be mentioned now and we know a little bit about him, and about the first three and a half years. Now, he comes to power but it’s the events, the last three and a half years that are particularly important, and have the most significance for Israel, and their ultimate redemption.

Over in chapter 13, we’ll get more into detail about him when we come to chapter 13 since there’s more information given there. There he is called—“I saw the beast coming out of the sea,” with his descriptions there. This is the one who will be worshiped, verse 4, “they worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast,” and they worshiped the beast. Down in verse eight. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him.”

Come over to chapter 17, so part of what we do and the newer you are to the study of biblical prophecy (maybe it’ll take a little bit more time) the Book of Revelation is moving us along; it gives us more detail, and fills in. When you get to chapter 17, you see more information about this individual, and verse eight. “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come out of the abyss, go to destruction,” and he’s referred to, they’ll wonder when they see the beast, at the end of verse eight and we have these repeated references to the beast.

Down in verse 11. “The beast, which was and is not, is himself an eighth.” Verse 12, “they give,” at the end of the verse, “their authority to the beast, they have authority with the beast, they give their power” in verse 13 “to the beast.” Verse 16, “the 10 horns, which you saw, the beast,” so you see that repeated reference and then there are other ways of referring to him as well. He’s “the prince who is to come,” from Daniel chapter nine and when we get later in Revelation, I’ll put together a list of some of the names for him in the bible and we can have them on the screen just to remind ourselves of the importance of this individual in future prophecy.

Back in chapter 11 verse seven, “he’s the beast that comes out of the abyss.” We’ll talk about the possibility of this man’s resurrection from the dead in chapter 13. I think the prime reference here, the abyss, is really the place where demons are held, if you remember, so I think what the reference is, this is a man empowered by the devil, this is the man that the devil most fully and completely controls. We’ve seen some wicked rulers in world history. No one has ever seen anything like this man! He’s a man endowed with supernatural demonic abilities, though I think the reference here, “out of the abyss,” may indicate that his power and abilities come from the devil and that will be a reference that was touched on in one of the passages we read. It’s the dragon, who gives him his authority, who is identified in chapter 12 as the devil. The one who comes out of the abyss, he’ll make war with these prophets and overcome them and kill them.

You say, “well that’s disappointing. I mean doesn’t it look like God’s been defeated?” Now here the enemy, these men who are clearly identified as God’s spokesmen, for three and a half years, they do supernatural miracles, are not able to be harmed in any way, and now the beast puts his foot down so to speak, steps in and has them killed. It shows you something of the power of this one. He’ll make war with them, he’ll overcome them, he’ll kill them. Note something of the victory. That’s at the end of three and a half years of ministry, and to further show and disgrace them, he won’t allow their bodies to be buried, so their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which mystically is called Sodom, and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Those from the peoples, and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be buried. It’s a picture of humiliating them, the scorn. Remember in World War II, Mussolini when he was overthrown, how they mutilated his body and hung it in the street and so on. Hitler was so afraid he wanted his body burned because he didn’t want his body to be treated like Mussolini. That way of treating the body shows that total disregard of those persons. In history, sometimes they’ve dug up the bones of a martyr, to burn them to ashes just to show their total scorn of those individuals and so on, so here these bodies are just going to lay unburied. They’ll lie in the street of the great city.

We won’t go back but Jeremiah chapter 22. Verses seven to nine refer to Jerusalem as “that great city,” and there’s no doubt what we’re talking about here because at the end of verse eight it says, “where their Lord was crucified,” and “where also their Lord was crucified” referring obviously to these Jewish prophets, and they do represent Jesus Christ and that’s where He was crucified. You’ll note the city is also mystically called Sodom and Egypt. Some people say since they’re symbols, so many symbols in Revelation, we don’t take it literally but we do. It says here they are mystically or spiritually, pneumatikos we get pneumatology, the Greek word for spirit, they are spiritually, so it’s indicating this is not literally Sodom, not literally Egypt but God looks at Jerusalem. This is important here, God’s looking at the Jewish nation, at the city of Jerusalem and saying I see them morally and religiously just like Sodom, just like Egypt. Now that comes out of the Old Testament prophets.

Come back to Isaiah chapter 1. Remember the many, many hundreds of references to the Old Testament, and I take it in the Tribulation, when the Spirit of God is working in Jews, attention is drawn to the Book of Revelation. “Their eyes will begin to be opened.” Isaiah chapter 1 and you know what Isaiah launches right into it, verse four and he’s told them, “Israel you’re worse than an animal. A donkey knows its master, its owner.” Verse three, “But Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” That’s how far gone they are spiritually, their whole body is sick from the sole of the foot to the top of the head. “Your land is desolate,” verse seven and so on. Verse nine, “unless the Lord of hosts had left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, and we would be like Gomorrah.”

The only reason that Israel wasn’t annihilated was because of God’s mercy and grace. Not because they deserved any less severe punishment than Sodom did, so note verse 10, “hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah.” What’s He go on to say, “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Quit bringing your sacrifices, because they come from a heart that is not in submission to Me, it’s in rebellion, it’s just a sacrilege, you’re trampling My courts. I think this fits with where we are in Revelation 11. For three and a half years Israel has had its temple operating, but not in faith of the God of Israel and the Savior that has come, their Messiah, so for God it’s just like they’re morally and spiritually no better than Sodom and Gomorrah. No better than Egypt.

Come over to the Book of Ezekiel. We don’t have time to look at all the verses that connect these but come to Ezekiel chapter 16. Ezekiel chapter 16, God talks about how He brought Israel to Himself, entered into covenant with them and did all this for them. Then come down to verse 46, a long chapter. “Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters, your younger sister who lives south of you, is Sodom.” This is God saying how He sees the northern and southern kingdoms. Now the kingdom is Samaria. They’ve already been carried into captivity so you’ve got two sisters, comparing the nation when it divided, the northern 10 tribes. He’s saying well the northern sister that’s Samaria as the captive. In 722 that was carted away. Ezekiel is in the time of the Babylonian captivity as you’re aware. He says the southern sister, that’s Sodom.

Even Judah after what happened to the northern 10 tribes, didn’t get the point. They were continuing in their sinful rebellion against God. They should have learned something from what happened to their sister in the north. Verse 47, “yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but you acted more corruptly.” He says the southern kingdom is more guilty. Verse 48, “As I live, declares the Lord God, Sodom, your sister and her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: daughters of arrogance,” all they did, the punishment they deserve, so for the Jews to understand when He says it’s spiritually called Sodom, that’s what the Old Testament prophets said about Israel. It’s just like Sodom.

To this day we use Sodom and Gomorrah, and it’s still is a reference to something that is morally and spiritually decadent, and we would say well that city is just like Sodom and Gomorrah. Well we know what they mean. Now God is saying spiritually Jerusalem is Sodom or Egypt. Let me see if I can pull out a reference for you. We are in chapter 16 go back up to verse 26. “You also played the harlot with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbors; you multiplied your harlotry to make Me angry.” He’s talking about spiritual immorality here.

Verse 27, “now, I have stretched out My hand against you, diminished your rations and I delivered you to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistines” and so on. What? They have become intermingled with the worship and the paganism that characterized Egypt. Well, did Israel learn anything from what God did to Egypt and the plagues He brought on them? So we could go over to Ezekiel 23 but we won’t? If you go over to Ezekiel 23, you’ll see in that chapter, God is comparing Israel’s unfaithfulness to the spiritual condition of Egypt, and their unfaithfulness because they became involved with the worship practices of the Egyptians. That’s spiritual harlotry, so here when we come to chapter 11, and verse eight, these prophets for three and a half years of ministry, now they lie dead in the streets of Jerusalem and that great city, which is spiritually recognized as Sodom and Egypt. They have been morally and religiously corrupted in spite of the fact, you know, it’s just like the Old Testament they learn nothing.

They could have the temple in existence for three and a half years. It’s been pagan worship, totally unacceptable to God, so verse nine, “those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their deed bodies for three and a half days.” They ministered for three and a half years now for three and a half days, a day for each year, their bodies lay there, there not allowed to be buried. Why? So the beast can gloat and show the world his power. It’s a sad picture. Now you note their ministry hasn’t just been to Jerusalem. Peoples, and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their bodies. Do you think this won’t make the news? You think these two prophets haven’t been on the news, doing the miracles they do, having the power they do. It hasn’t caused the world to believe, it has antagonized the world, and now, turn on the evening news and there, it shows you the kind of power those men had didn’t it, when they came up with someone who could really deal with them. For three and a half days, their bodies lie there.

Verse 10, “those who dwell on the earth,” and again we’ve noted this and we don’t have time, I have the references here but we’ll pick that up at a later time. “Dwellers on the earth,” the earth dwellers, those who dwell on the earth. It becomes a technical expression for the unbelievers, in the Book of Revelation. It began in chapter three verse 10 and will end in chapter 17 verse eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight times, we have this reference, nine times, I didn’t have chapter 11 here since I wrote it down, but those who dwell on the earth. Those are those connected to this earth. They have no relationship to heaven. This is their home. They are the enemies of God.

“Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them.” You know this is the only time in the Book of Revelation that it’s said, “the peoples of the earth rejoice,” and it’s over what? It’s over the death of the two spokesmen for God. Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and it’s not just oh, I’m glad that’s over, this becomes a national holiday, if you will. They’ll celebrate; they’ll send gifts to one another. This is a big deal, because these men for three and a half years have given forth the truth of God, told of His salvation, told of His judgment. You know how it is with an unbeliever. To get an unbeliever to come to a bible study, sit and hear the clarity of the word taught, pretty soon it begins to grate on them, they don’t desire that, so this is wonderful!

Well you know you see they’ve had a worldwide impact, because in God’s intention, I think as I read this, for how long people have wondered, how the whole world could be so impacted by the ministry of two men centered in Jerusalem. That would take a long time to get the letters out but now people are going to be able to literally see these bodies, lying on the streets of Jerusalem, and you know what happens when the news is controlled like in countries, where they put on only what the government controls. Well you have the beast here now. This will be on all the time. They’re dead, they’re lying in the street. You know why, they rejoiced because these two prophets, at the end of verse 10, tormented those who dwell on the earth. They tormented them. You know the truth of God does that.

Come back to 1 Kings Chapter 18. This is about Elijah, and since we’ve connected to Elijah, and saw similarities with these two prophets, come back to 1 Kings Chapter 18. Now here’s when Ahab the king, and remember Ahab’s married to the infamous Jezebel. Elijah has to carry on a ministry in that kind of context. “When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is this you, you troubler of Israel?’” See what Elijah was to unbelieving Israel. He was a cause of trouble. He is someone to be eliminated. Elijah says, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, you’ve forsaken the commandments of the Lord, you’ve followed the Baals” and this is going to be that well-known conflict with Elijah and the prophets of Baal and the end that they meet.

Over in chapter 21, while you’re here, verse 20. “Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ and Elijah answered, ‘I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.’” It is a conflict that’s there, that’s what’s going on in the world as these two continue their ministry. They want to shut them up but they can’t. I remind you, we are not prophets, we’re not serving in this particular time but we are representing the living God in the time in which He’s placed us and like Scripture says, “we are lights in the darkness,” and “Jesus said ‘if they have rejected Me, they’ll reject you.’ He says, ‘the world will hate you because it hates me,’” and I say this because we forget and somehow we live in an environment that is somewhat, comfortable.

We gather here, we’re not afraid somebody is going to storm through the door, drag us out and burn us at the stake or something. Pretty soon the church and the people of God begin to get comfortable and think well the unbelievers aren’t so bad and we want to be careful, we don’t become antagonistic, and so soon the church is not presenting the clarity of the word because it antagonizes people and they think we’re narrow. They think we think we’re the only ones that are right, and they say why don’t you do good things, and so we’ll start to pick up social programs because the world does that, that’s what people like and so the church ought to be more like the world, and the world never compromises, the unbeliever never compromises.

The pressure is on the believer. Tone down the truth, you can talk about God, you can talk about His love, you don’t always have to be talking about sin, you don’t have to be talking about hell, you don’t have to be talking about judgment, you don’t have to constantly be saying there’s only one way, so everyone else is wrong. In other words, you don’t have to be a witness for the living God. The compromise we make is be like us. Israel thought they were doing fine. They’ll think they’ve a good compromise going, during the first three and a half years of the Tribulation, God looks at them and says you’ve become like Sodom and Egypt. I say that, we don’t want to get discouraged, we don’t have to be rude, we don’t have to be belligerent, and all the things that people say, but if we don’t give them the truth. We try to hide as believers because it’s easier to get by if you just hide, keep your mouth shut, do your work, go home, get in a holy huddle and everything will be good, but God puts us out there to be lights in the darkness, and we see the result, they tormented the people.

I realize some people think I have a ministry of torment. You do too! For the unbeliever. I can’t understand why people who profess to be believers are offended by the word because believers love the truth. That doesn’t mean I present it better than someone else does, but we should love the truth, it shouldn’t anger us. You know when something upsets me when they teach it from the word and I say am I upset with the way they said it, am I upset with what they said or am I upset with the God who said it, and they passed it on to me and I don’t like it. Well then, I had better adjust, so they tormented and I had a number of passages on that as you can imagine, but we have another hour to go so we don’t have time for that.

Let’s move on but after three and a half days, the last chapters not been written. After three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, they stood on their feet; great fear fell upon those who were watching them. I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. You know, the unbeliever doesn’t have the last word. Death is not the last word. God’s people are always victorious. Here God is great, particularly, they have testified of salvation in the Son of God who was crucified and raised from the dead at Jerusalem. It happens where the Lord was crucified (remember at the end of verse eight) and now to see the power that raised Christ from the dead raises them from the dead.

The enemies are watching. I take it people in Jerusalem, there are probably crowds there, but now with television you could broadcast it around the world. In that hour there was a great earthquake, a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Another reason, why I think these witnesses may be witnessing in the last three and a half years. We’ve picked them up, their ministry and said they would minister in Jerusalem for forty-two months after which they are killed; they’re raised from the dead. We’re getting on the brink of the return of Lord here and so the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven, I think may be referring to what Romans 11 says, “thus all Israel will be saved.” The combination of everything that’s gone on over this forty-two months with these judgments poured out by God, with the intensity of the persecution of the Jews, and now this miracle that reminds the Jews of the death of their Messiah and His glorious resurrection. At any rate there are people saved here. They give glory to God, and since this is about Israel, I would think that a number of those might be the Jews.

Now we go back and pick up where we were just as a break here before we summarize. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly. That takes us back to the end of chapter 8 verse 13, “an eagle flying said, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’” We had the sounding of the next three angels, the fifth angel the first woe, the sixth angel the second woe, now we have a break. Now we pick up the third woe is coming quickly. We’re going to have the sounding of the seventh trumpet in verse 15 of chapter 11 but then we’re going to have another pause, and really, we won’t get the content of that trumpet until we get to chapter 16, God unfolding His purposes. Let me just summarize with you quickly what we’ve covered.

1. God’s servants are protected until their work is done.
You are immortal in human life. You can’t die until God says now’s the time, and that time was ordained for him. We’re not fatalistic, we believe a personal God is sovereignly working and controlling, but there are no accidents, there are no mistakes. God’s servants are protected until their work is finished and we saw God has planned and ordained for His purposes in the life of each one.

2. God’s servants are hated by Satan’s servants.
Originally, I had that down, God’s servants are hated by unbelievers, but I want you to see there are only two kinds of people in the world. You are one of the two kinds. You are either, a believer in Jesus Christ who has been cleansed from his sins and now you are a servant of the living God or you are a child of the devil, an enemy of the living God, serving the devil in your sin, on your way to hell. Those are the only two kinds of people on the face the earth. Well there are these people, I think they’re somewhere in here. Jesus said you’re either with Me or against Me. There is no middle ground, God’s servants, are hated by Satan’s servants. That doesn’t mean that the hatred is always as overt, but the more open you are in your testimony probably the more people will have strong feelings about you.

3. Israel has been in persistent rebellion against God.
He did not call them spiritually Sodom and Egypt. We can go back hundreds of years before in Israel’s history and find out the same kind of picture. You know we forget God looks at the heart. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. We look superficially sometimes. God is looking at the heart. He sees a heart in rebellion against Him and Israel has been in persistent rebellion.

4. Satan’s servants rejoice when God’s servants are removed.
Right now people are happy with us. We come apart and share the word of God. If we were out doing the whole city, we would stir up. It didn’t take Paul long to come into a city and stir up opposition not because he was there to cause trouble because he was there to present the message of the living God and those people didn’t want to hear the message of the living God, so Satan’s servants rejoice when God’s servants are removed. We want to be careful that he doesn’t effectively remove the truth from the church, so that the world’s not bothered by having that kind of church.

5. Satan’s servants are tormented by the ministry of God’s servants.
That is why they’re glad they are removed. They don’t want to hear it.

6. God’s servants will be raised in victory.
The last chapter’s the same for every believer. We win, because God wins and we belong to Him, we’re His children. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, not tribulation, not suffering, not martyrdom, not death, nothing. When all is said and done, we will be enjoying the glory that is so richly described in chapters 21 and 22 of the Book of Revelation. Nobody can keep me from it. Nobody can keep you from it. What keeps us from it is the failure to believe in the Savior that God has provided and that last one . . . .

7. Even, in judgment there is mercy and grace.
Isn’t God amazing? We’re this far into the Tribulation and God is saving many people as a result of the judgments they see. Then the victory; they gave glory to the God of heaven. Isn’t it amazing in this day, God is still putting up--we look at the world and say what is going on, why, how can, why doesn’t God do something? Read the plan, it has to go to its appointed end. It’s not nearly as bad as it’s going to get, but we shouldn’t be surprised it’s getting worse. We shouldn’t think the solution is voting someone else in. There is no stopping the move. Some people say you’re pessimistic. No, I’m not. I’m the greatest optimist. I’ve read chapters 21, 22, it doesn’t end in defeat. But to talk like we can make it better, we can’t. Again, I’m not against doing nice things, good things. I am against anything replacing the ministry that the church is to have and we as believers are to carry out as God’s representatives.

Let’s pray together: Thank you Lord for Your truth. Thank you for the patience You have with us. Lord thank you for Your love and even giving us the Book of Revelation. Giving us Your Spirit as Your children to understand so we can delve into the truth, we can give it careful consideration. We can understand what is going on in the world around us as it moves toward judgment. We can appreciate the responsibility we have as the church that is to be the pillar and support of the truth if we as individuals are to be lights in a world of darkness. We thank you this is a day of grace, a day of salvation particularly for Gentiles. Lord use us as instruments to bring this message of life to family and friends alike, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.