The Two Witnesses by Woodrow Kroll

Transcription

1 The Two Witnesses by Woodrow Kroll Today s Radio Study: Woodrow Kroll: And I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head; his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. And he had a little book, opened in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices (Revelation 10:1-2). Now, let s stop and see what we can say about this angel before we get to the two witnesses. Notice, first of all, the physical appearance of this angel is very significant. He is said to have a rainbow upon His head. His face is like the sun. His feet are like pillars of fire. And he has one foot on the land and one foot in the sea, apparently showing His authority over all the earth. Now, as a result of that, there are many people who say, Well, this has to be the Lord Jesus. And you would think that, except for the fact that this angel doesn t appear to speak in his own authority. He appears to speak in the authority of the Lord Jesus. So, in verse 6 of this chapter, it says that he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer. That is the Lord Jesus. So, whoever this angel is, he comes to speak in the authority of Jesus and give a message to the world that comes directly from the Lord.(Now, notice in verse 1 and again in verse 4, it talks about this little book that he has verse 2 and verse 4.) This is a little book that he doesn t open. It s already opened. Don t confuse this little book with the seven sealed scroll that we ve already encountered back in chapter five and chapter six. That is opened by the Lord Jesus. This book is already opened and it s smaller than that scroll. Notice what happens here, in verse 8, John is told to do something with that little book, that little scroll. He says: The voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, Go, and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth. And I went to the angel and said to him, Give me the little book! And he said to me: Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be sweet as honey in your mouth (Revelation 10:8-9). This is not the first time in the Bible that a person has been told to eat a book, isn t that true? You remember sometimes in the Old Testament? Ezekiel had a similar experience. Jeremiah was told to eat the scroll. Basically, it does not mean to chew it up and swallow it. I think it means to devour the contents of this book; imbibe everything that is in this book. So, whatever is in this book, John is told, I want you to read it. I want you to reread it. And I want you to memorize it. And I want you to make it a part of you. 1 The Two Witnesses

2 That s not a whole lot different from what God expects of us with His Word today. He tells us we ought to eat this Book. We ought to be devouring the Word of God, not reading a verse here and there, not picking up a devotional and reading a verse as a part of that devotional. We ought to be eating big chunks of this Word every day. That s the only way we can be adequately prepared to serve the Lord. That s what John is doing here. John is told to eat up a big chunk of this book; in fact, eat it all. But He says, When you eat it, it will be bittersweet. It will taste good in your mouth. But the message will make your stomach bitter. John is opening the book now to see the end of the book. And he has read the last chapter, and he knows how the story turns out. He knows that there is a good conclusion to this. So, he is happy about that. That is why it is sweet as honey. But it is also bitter because there is a lot of judgment yet to come before you get to the end. And that is what causes the book to be bittersweet. Well, that is the interlude of chapter 10. Let s see what happens in chapter 11 as this parenthetical information continues. Again, chapter 10 did not move the narrative forward. We have not gotten to the seventh trumpet judgment yet. This is after six, waiting on seven to come. Chapter 11 does not move the narrative forward either. Again it is a parenthetical portion designed to give us more information about what is going on. And in Revelation 11:1, John is told to measure the temple. This is a fairly odd passage. Let me read a couple of verses to you. He says: Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do no measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months (Revelation 11:1-2). All right, now, that is enough for us to chew on for awhile! Think about this: He says, I want you to take a rod and measure the temple. Now, this is the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem. But the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. And my friends who see this Book of Revelation as already passed say that this event has already passed. But it is a great trouble to me that the temple is destroyed, and John is told to measure something that is destroyed. I think that this is still future. I think that the temple will be rebuilt in the city of Jerusalem. And that s the temple that he is going to measure. Where does he get a rod? Well, he doesn t go down to the local Ace Hardware store and buy a measuring stick. He goes out to the reeds that are near the Dead Sea, near the Jordan River. Those reeds grow 10 to 12 feet tall. He s going to take one of these reeds. He is told to measure the temple, and also to measure the worshippers in the temple and the altar of God. Now, that is interesting because he is not to measure the outside of the temple the outer court; that belongs to the Gentiles. So, this tells me two things: Number one, God is turning His attention to Israel because the Gentiles are not measured; they are the outer court. It is only the altar of God and the inner court of the temple and the people who are there. So, it tells me, first of all, God is turning His full attention back to the nation, Israel. There are some who believe that God is done with Israel. But I don t think that is the way to interpret Scripture. I think that God is going to be as interested in His people Israel in the future as He was in the past. And here He is turning his attention back to them. The second thing that I learned from this passage is God is not just interested in buildings. He is interested in the people in the buildings. He says: Measure the temple and the altar. And, oh yes, measure the people there too. What God is doing is saying, That temple belongs to Me. That altar belongs to Me. And, oh by the way, those Jewish people belong to Me. So, now at this point, we are going to see God dealing with Israel again. He measures the temple. This act of measuring is simply claiming what God already has said is His own. And that is His own people, the people of God. We are definitely now in the 70th week of the Book of Daniel. Tami Weissert: The 70th week of Daniel... what s that all about? 2 The Two Witnesses

3 WK: We actually have to go back to the Book of Daniel to find out. Let me just summarize because this can get a little bit involved. Daniel was in a Babylonian prison when he discovered by reading the prophet Jeremiah that the Jews would be in exile only 70 years and their time was almost up. And (Daniel 9) this led Daniel to pray for God to shorten that time. And the answer to his prayer came from the angel Gabriel. He gave Daniel a prophecy of 70 weeks or 70 sevens. The weeks usually are interpreted as years, which mean that Daniel is learning about the next 490 years of God s program with Israel. In the prophecy, the 490 years is divided into three segments: 7 sevens or 49 years, 62 sevens or 434 years, and finally 1 seven or seven years. Stick with me on this. If you overlay a history of this prophecy, the first 49 year period seems to be from the time of Artaxerxes decree to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The second period of the 434 years extends all the way to the introduction of Israel s Messiah to the nation Israel. According to Daniel s prophecy, the Messiah, the Anointed One, is cut off. Those are the words he uses. Once the seven or the 62 years have run their course, the 69 sevens end. Now amazingly, this corresponds exactly to the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. But then there s an interval of time between the 69th seven and the 70th seven. Others and I see this as the Church Age with the final seven years of Daniel s prophecy coming immediately after the church is removed. That s the Tribulation period. As I said, the answer is a little bit involved, but I wanted to take the time to be accurate in my answer. We re in Revelation 11 talking about the two witnesses. Who are they? They could be two people in the future whom God raises up and charges them with the responsibility of preaching the Gospel during this Tribulation period. That s entirely possible. We really don t know for sure, but based on biblical interpretation, it s possible that one could be Elijah and the other Moses. Now, let me tell you why I say that. We are going to go back to the Old Testament to the Book of Malachi, Malachi 4, the last book of the Old Testament, the last chapter of the last book: Malachi 4. At verse 4, it says this: Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:4-6). Have you noticed that the Old Testament ends with the word, curse? And just at the end of the Old Testament is this promise that before the great and terrible day of the Lord, before the great judgment of God falls upon the world, God says I will send Elijah the prophet and Elijah the prophet will preach to the world. So, there have been some, and I think legitimately so, who have said, This is my kind of guy! One of these witnesses may be Elijah the prophet. Remember James 5 talks about Elijah being a man who was fervent and who preached the Word and who knew how to get a hold of God, a man who knew how to pray. One of them may be Elijah. The other one, of course, could be Moses. You remember the story back in the Matthew 17. Let me just read a portion of that. Matthew 17 is where Jesus was transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration. There in Matthew 17, three of His disciples accompanied Him. This is what it says, Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up on a high mountain by themselves, and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:1-4). It is evident that Jesus did not wish because, when they raised their heads, they could see no Moses, no Elijah. They saw only Jesus. But here we have Moses and Elijah, together again. And there have been folks who have said, Do you know what? It could be that God brings Moses and Elijah back to this world. They would be recognizable. I mean, can you imagine Moses and Elijah showing up in the future wearing the same clothes that they did thousands of years 3 The Two Witnesses

4 ago? They would be recognizable. It could be Moses or Elijah. We don t know who the two witnesses are. What we do know is what they do. So, let s concentrate on what they do. Revelation 11:5. It says: If anyone wants to harm [these two witnesses], fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. Now, there s a superhero for you. There s power. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (Revelation 11:5-6). Shut heaven? Plagues? Moses and Elijah? There s historical precedent for this. So the powers of these two is these are incredible powers. But verse 7 shows what happens to the two men. Now when they finish their testimony [that s their preaching], the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them (Revelation 11:7). Regarding the martyrdom of the two witnesses, now, did you notice, though, that it doesn t happen until they finish their testimony? You see, until God is done with them, Satan can do nothing to them. You know what? That s true for you too. You are invincible until God is finished with you. No one changes the program of God. Now, these two witnesses can do wonders; they can do great things. But at the end of their ministry, when they are all done, God then allows Satan to have his control over them. And what does he do? He kills them. And if that isn t bad enough, verse 8 (Revelation 11:8), And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city [that s Jerusalem] which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. I mean there is no question about what city he is talking about here. Jesus was only crucified in one city. Sodom always stands for moral corruption. Egypt always stands for spiritual darkness in the world. And the antagonism of the world against these two preachers of the Gospel will be so great that when they are killed, their bodies are left to lie in the street to rot. And as if that isn t enough, look at this! Verse 9: Then those from the people s, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 11:9-10). That is how sharp their preaching was! They told it like it was. They preached repentance for sin, and the world paid no attention. So, when they are killed their bodies are allowed to lie in the streets. And even then the people proclaim a holiday. It says they make merry, and send gifts to one another. Well, the celebration doesn t last very long. Look at what happens next: verse 11, Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Well, I ll betcha! I mean, here they are dead. Their bodies have been left to lie in the street. They proclaim a holiday. And after three and a half days, they stand up. And everybody is scared out of their gourd. And here is what happens, verse 12: They heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here. [That s resurrection!] And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. The people who hated them, who killed them and who left them to lie in the street watched them ascend into heaven. God takes care of His people, even if they re martyred. With Revelation 11:15-19, the seventh trumpet is sounded. And again, judgment comes upon the earth. While the seventh trumpet is introduced here, its full force is felt all the way to the end of the Tribulation period. So the seventh trumpet judgment begins here and it does not stop until Christ returns in power and great glory. That s Revelation 19. That s where He ll put an end to the activity of Satan, to the Antichrist, and He ll establish His kingdom here on the earth. When the seventh trumpet sounded, voices were heard in heaven saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ and He will reign forever. I have to 4 The Two Witnesses

5 tell you, this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It s just breath-taking. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ and He will reign forever and ever. What a powerful statement! What a powerful promise! Look, I m aware that there are good people who do not believe that Jesus will literally reign on this earth for a thousand years. They generally point to Jesus statement in Luke 17:21 that says, The kingdom of God is within you. Well, it is but that does not mean that ultimately we will not reign with Christ in an honest-to-goodness kingdom of peace right here on the earth. I mean, after all, there s only one verse that says the kingdom of God is within you. There are dozens of verses that speak of Christ s kingdom as a real kingdom a physical kingdom here on this planet. For example, Ezekiel 21:26-27 [says], Thus says the Lord God, Remove the turban. Take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low and bring low that which is exalted. A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make. This also shall not be until He comes, the One to whom judgment belongs and I will give it to Him. He s talking about the crown. There will be a kingdom on this earth. Daniel 2:35, describing the great image in Belshazzar s day he prophetically announces, Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, the gold were all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth [again talking about Jesus and His kingdom throughout the entire earth]. So I think it s evident that there s a literal one thousand year reign on the earth. It s not only possible; it s prophetic as well. When Jesus returns to end the Tribulation period, He will reign from Jerusalem and you and I will reign with Him. Unless otherwise indicated, scripture references are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 2012 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Back to the Bible P.O. Box Lincoln, NE backtothebible.org 5 The Two Witnesses