REVELATION 11
At the beginning of chapter 11, John is given a measuring instrument, and he is asked to measure the sanctuary of God and the altar, and to count the number of worshipers there. We are not told the results of these measurements or the number of worshipers. Perhaps the results of the measurements were the same as in Ezekiel 40-42. As for the number of worshipers, we are not told whether John was counting the 144,000 who were sealed in Revelation 7:4, or if he was trying to count the multitude in Revelation 7:9, which he has already told us no one could count.
John is told not to measure the outer court of the temple, because it has been given to the gentiles to trample on for 42 months, the same period of time mentioned in both Daniel 7:25 and in Daniel 12:7, perhaps a reference to the second half of the great tribulation, Daniel's seventieth week. This is also the same period of time for which Elijah was allowed to shut the heavens so no rain would fall for three and a half years. Oddly enough, I cannot find a reference to that period of time in 1 Kings 17, but only in Luke 4:25 and James 5:17. The two prophets we are introduced to in verse 3 are also given 42 months to prophesy in Jerusalem before they are killed. They are allowed to prevent it from raining during that period of time, as Elijah was allowed to do, and they are allowed to inflict the earth's inhabitants with plagues as often as they like, plagues which are probably similar to those Moses was given authority to do before the exodus from Egypt. The three and a half days after their deaths are an abbreviated analogy to their times as prophets, and their resurrection similar to the resurrection of Christ, for whom they are witnesses.
I believe Revelation's chapters 11, 12 and 13 are actually three different pictures of events which will happen during the same time period. The witnesses
in chapter 11 are granted power to prophesy and to afflict the earth with plagues for 42 months. In chapter 12, the woman who gave birth to a male child
is given a place of refuge in the wilderness for 42 months. In chapter 13, the beast is given authority to exercise his will for 42 months.
I should add here that some commentators do not take any of the numbers in this book literally. In this case, they claim that interpreting this period as a literal 42 months before Christ's kingdom comes would violate the saying of Jesus in Matthew 24:36 where he said, "But of that exact day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Therefore, they say these references are to the entire church age, not to a literal 42 months or three and a half years.
Their point is well-taken, but if this period of time is not literal, why is it placed in scripture more than half a dozen times, and why is it in both the Old and New Testaments? My preference is to interpret Revelation, and prophetic scriptures in general, in the most straightforward way possible. Certainly God could confuse us all with symbolism forty levels deep, but in Matthew 11:25-26 Jesus says, "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and have revealed them to babes." Of course, Jesus was not speaking about eschatological events when he said this, but he was indicating revelation comes from God, and it is not the result of human intelligence, which leads me to suspect that some commentators over-analyze prophetic passages, relying on clever analogies, rather than a straightforward interpretation, which can often be clearly understood by someone who is reading scripture for the first time.
There are a wide variety of interpretations of who these prophets are, Moses and Elijah, Peter and Paul, or even the church in general, not two literal individuals. As John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah, but he was not literally Elijah, but an altogether different human being, I believe these are two men who arise at a specific point in history for which God has appointed them.
They are dressed in sackcloth (probably made of goat skin), which is always symbolic of repentance and the acknowledgment of past sins, and it contrasts with the celebration of their deaths by the unrepentant.
They are referred to as olive trees and lampstands in verse 4. This is similar to the passage in Zechariah 4:8-14 where Joshua and Zerubbabel are referred to as two lampstands. Note that Joshua was the high priest and Zerubbabel was a prince. So the two prophets in this chapter may symbolize both spiritual and political authority. Referring to them as lampstands may also indicate they are leaders of two churches, since the seven golden lampstands spoken of in Revelation 1:12 and 1:20 represent the seven churches which were discussed in Revelation 2 and 3.
Until the 42 months are over, these prophets are allowed to kill anyone who attempts to harm them, as Elijah was allowed to do in 2 Kings 1:10-12. They are also allowed to prevent rain, as Elijah was given power to do, and they are allowed to turn water into blood, which Moses was allowed to do in Exodus 7:17-20. This is probably in response to the persecution of God's people, as it was in Egypt. But just as it did not cause Egypt's pharaoh to repent, the plagues these prophets are allowed to initiate only cause earth's inhabitants to want to kill them. Verse 7 tells us that the beast from the abyss, or the bottomless pit, will wage war on them, conquer them and kill them. This is the first reference to the beast, which we will discuss more fully in chapter 13.
The celebration of their deaths seems particularly ironic, because we exchange gifts every Christmas in commemoration of Christ's birth. This event is an anti-Christmas, and though human nature has always been evil since Adam and Eve sinned, many men who are not even Christians have celebrated Christmas in some fashion for two thousand years, but the influence of Satan over this generation of men is so great that they celebrate the murder of prophets in a similar way. Even their resurrection in the sight of their enemies, perhaps shown on television around the world, does not cause repentance, but only great dread and terror.
The earthquake at the time of their resurrection is not only a demonstration of God's power, but it is reminiscent of the earthquake at the time of Christ's death (Matthew 27:51-53) and the earthquake in Acts 4:31 when the disciples prayed for power to continue to be witnesses to Christ's resurrection, though no one perished in those earthquakes.
Verse 14 tells us that the second woe (the sixth trumpet) has passed, and the third woe (the seventh trumpet) is soon to come. Recall that an eagle flying in heaven warned about these three woes at the end of chapter 8, and the second woe in chapter 9 apparently began with a military battle which included an army of 200 million men, an incredibly large army, even by today's standards.
When the seventh angel blows his trumpet in verse 15, the kingdom of the world becomes Christ's kingdom for all eternity. Verses 16-18 describe the worship of God by the 24 elders we have met before, and verse 19 tells us that the sanctuary of God in heaven will be opened, the ark of the covenant will be seen, and there will be thunder, lightning and a large hailstorm, another demonstration of the power of God.
As I said earlier, chapters 11, 12 and 13 appear to be different pictures of concurrent events, meaning that many of the events yet to be described, particularly those in chapter 13, would have to occur before the seventh trumpet is blown. Jesus speaks of the seventh trumpet in Matthew 24:30-31 (AMP), as follows:
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish,
and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].
31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end
of the universe to the other."
Paul speaks of the seventh trumpet, both in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, as follows:
51 "Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death],
but we shall all be changed (transformed)
52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised
imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed)."
16 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God.
And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.
17Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord!"
John is told not to measure the outer court of the temple, because it has been given to the gentiles to trample on for 42 months, the same period of time mentioned in both Daniel 7:25 and in Daniel 12:7, perhaps a reference to the second half of the great tribulation, Daniel's seventieth week. This is also the same period of time for which Elijah was allowed to shut the heavens so no rain would fall for three and a half years. Oddly enough, I cannot find a reference to that period of time in 1 Kings 17, but only in Luke 4:25 and James 5:17. The two prophets we are introduced to in verse 3 are also given 42 months to prophesy in Jerusalem before they are killed. They are allowed to prevent it from raining during that period of time, as Elijah was allowed to do, and they are allowed to inflict the earth's inhabitants with plagues as often as they like, plagues which are probably similar to those Moses was given authority to do before the exodus from Egypt. The three and a half days after their deaths are an abbreviated analogy to their times as prophets, and their resurrection similar to the resurrection of Christ, for whom they are witnesses.
I believe Revelation's chapters 11, 12 and 13 are actually three different pictures of events which will happen during the same time period. The witnesses
in chapter 11 are granted power to prophesy and to afflict the earth with plagues for 42 months. In chapter 12, the woman who gave birth to a male child
is given a place of refuge in the wilderness for 42 months. In chapter 13, the beast is given authority to exercise his will for 42 months.
I should add here that some commentators do not take any of the numbers in this book literally. In this case, they claim that interpreting this period as a literal 42 months before Christ's kingdom comes would violate the saying of Jesus in Matthew 24:36 where he said, "But of that exact day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Therefore, they say these references are to the entire church age, not to a literal 42 months or three and a half years.
Their point is well-taken, but if this period of time is not literal, why is it placed in scripture more than half a dozen times, and why is it in both the Old and New Testaments? My preference is to interpret Revelation, and prophetic scriptures in general, in the most straightforward way possible. Certainly God could confuse us all with symbolism forty levels deep, but in Matthew 11:25-26 Jesus says, "I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and have revealed them to babes." Of course, Jesus was not speaking about eschatological events when he said this, but he was indicating revelation comes from God, and it is not the result of human intelligence, which leads me to suspect that some commentators over-analyze prophetic passages, relying on clever analogies, rather than a straightforward interpretation, which can often be clearly understood by someone who is reading scripture for the first time.
There are a wide variety of interpretations of who these prophets are, Moses and Elijah, Peter and Paul, or even the church in general, not two literal individuals. As John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah, but he was not literally Elijah, but an altogether different human being, I believe these are two men who arise at a specific point in history for which God has appointed them.
They are dressed in sackcloth (probably made of goat skin), which is always symbolic of repentance and the acknowledgment of past sins, and it contrasts with the celebration of their deaths by the unrepentant.
They are referred to as olive trees and lampstands in verse 4. This is similar to the passage in Zechariah 4:8-14 where Joshua and Zerubbabel are referred to as two lampstands. Note that Joshua was the high priest and Zerubbabel was a prince. So the two prophets in this chapter may symbolize both spiritual and political authority. Referring to them as lampstands may also indicate they are leaders of two churches, since the seven golden lampstands spoken of in Revelation 1:12 and 1:20 represent the seven churches which were discussed in Revelation 2 and 3.
Until the 42 months are over, these prophets are allowed to kill anyone who attempts to harm them, as Elijah was allowed to do in 2 Kings 1:10-12. They are also allowed to prevent rain, as Elijah was given power to do, and they are allowed to turn water into blood, which Moses was allowed to do in Exodus 7:17-20. This is probably in response to the persecution of God's people, as it was in Egypt. But just as it did not cause Egypt's pharaoh to repent, the plagues these prophets are allowed to initiate only cause earth's inhabitants to want to kill them. Verse 7 tells us that the beast from the abyss, or the bottomless pit, will wage war on them, conquer them and kill them. This is the first reference to the beast, which we will discuss more fully in chapter 13.
The celebration of their deaths seems particularly ironic, because we exchange gifts every Christmas in commemoration of Christ's birth. This event is an anti-Christmas, and though human nature has always been evil since Adam and Eve sinned, many men who are not even Christians have celebrated Christmas in some fashion for two thousand years, but the influence of Satan over this generation of men is so great that they celebrate the murder of prophets in a similar way. Even their resurrection in the sight of their enemies, perhaps shown on television around the world, does not cause repentance, but only great dread and terror.
The earthquake at the time of their resurrection is not only a demonstration of God's power, but it is reminiscent of the earthquake at the time of Christ's death (Matthew 27:51-53) and the earthquake in Acts 4:31 when the disciples prayed for power to continue to be witnesses to Christ's resurrection, though no one perished in those earthquakes.
Verse 14 tells us that the second woe (the sixth trumpet) has passed, and the third woe (the seventh trumpet) is soon to come. Recall that an eagle flying in heaven warned about these three woes at the end of chapter 8, and the second woe in chapter 9 apparently began with a military battle which included an army of 200 million men, an incredibly large army, even by today's standards.
When the seventh angel blows his trumpet in verse 15, the kingdom of the world becomes Christ's kingdom for all eternity. Verses 16-18 describe the worship of God by the 24 elders we have met before, and verse 19 tells us that the sanctuary of God in heaven will be opened, the ark of the covenant will be seen, and there will be thunder, lightning and a large hailstorm, another demonstration of the power of God.
As I said earlier, chapters 11, 12 and 13 appear to be different pictures of concurrent events, meaning that many of the events yet to be described, particularly those in chapter 13, would have to occur before the seventh trumpet is blown. Jesus speaks of the seventh trumpet in Matthew 24:30-31 (AMP), as follows:
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish,
and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].
31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end
of the universe to the other."
Paul speaks of the seventh trumpet, both in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, as follows:
51 "Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death],
but we shall all be changed (transformed)
52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised
imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed)."
16 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God.
And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.
17Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord!"
posted by TAPIOCA at 11/18/2006 06:12:00 AM
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