Revelation 11:3-13 - Two Fiery Witnesses

welcome to morningstar christian chapel if you're watching on youtube please remember to hit that subscribe button like button and the notification bell so you can find out when we go live or we post a new video and be sure to leave a comment about what god has shown you in this message thanks and enjoy the study all right revelation chapter 11 verse 3 let's let's get at it we've been discussing for many weeks now this last book in your bibles the the one that the lord gave to us to finish everything that you read before god's promises the the proclamations of the prophets his relationship with israel and and as we've told you early on in chapter four verse one the church is removed from the earth delivered before god's wrath is poured out and god then turns to israel again everything is about israel you'll find a lot of old testament similes and metaphors and illustrations and quotes in this book because again it is israel's going back to their sacrificial system they will unfortunately follow the antichrist for a time until he exposes himself halfway through those seven years but really keep that in mind as you read through this book the the judgments of god are poured out uh in three different ways if you will and in chapter eight and nine we went through the um trump of judgments the second of these two of three waves that that fall up upon the earth from the lord's hand uh with the sixth trumpet there in chapter 9 verse 13 there is a pause and it seems that the lord does a lot of pausing in the chronology because a it's overwhelming number two he wants to show us the fruit that is coming even in the midst of judgment and thirdly i think it gives those who are under the gun time to repent so there's all these pauses but when we get to these last seven judgments there will not be that pause and it will just kind of run itself out forward beginning in chapter 16 and it'll go very quickly the last uh seven called the vile or bull judgments um so in chapter eight nine we saw the the judgments of the trumpet judgments if you will and then we got to chapter 10 and we we mentioned to you that for the next five chapters 10 through 14 the chronology doesn't roll forward it is it is they're called parenthetical chapters because it doesn't move as far as but it makes you look around we've told you that we believe that most all that happens in this book after chapter 6 verse 2 the revelation of the anti or the coming of the antichrist of power happens in the last three and a half years of the great tribulation and so much of this book in fact almost all of it is chronological when it moves forward and then it kind of stops and look around and it doesn't tell us at which point in that three and a half years we find these things but what we placed them all there together in chapter 10 john is given a vision by the lord of an angel setting his feet upon the earth and upon the sea he has a little book in his hand that seems to represent what is left of the judgments of god because they've been horrific um and yet john is told it'll all soon be over after the seventh trumpet sounds the will of god will be accomplished as judgments will be complete and so we're led to believe time and again that these last seven judgments go very quickly not a matter of months but of weeks and days if you will um and and the lord has told us that over and over again especially there in chapter 10. last week in chapter 11 the first couple of verses we looked at the temple big deal the temple was a big deal in the old testament a lot to learn it's a big deal in in the tribulation time because this is the the third temple that will be built the antichrist will facilitate it it appears he will certainly come to be worshipped there at the three and a half year mark of the the 42 month mark everywhere day 1260 we're told that in a bunch of different ways and then israel will recognize their mistake and they will cry out to the lord and you know this this horror will have begun tonight we want to start in verse three we're going to stop at verse 13. we might read verse 14 but we'll kind of include that next week as tonight we continue remember parenthetical chapters which means you can't place this anywhere in between those three and a half year marks but we're going to look at the study uh or at the the revelation if you will of two witnesses the lord will raise up for these three and a half years to be very special witnesses for him just like the 144 000 just like the angels that we're going to see here in a couple of weeks flying through the heavens these are supernatural works of god to make sure the world gets every opportunity possible to to turn from their wicked ways and and say yes to jesus and to his grace so verse 3 says this and i will give now the angel is speaking i will give power to my two witnesses and they will proclaim 1200 days while they are clothed in sackcloth those who believe that the angel in chapter 10 is jesus and we went over that in chapter 10 and i only go over it not because it's worth debating but because it's an issue and you'll read it if you're studying on your own it is my persuasion that it is not him that the lord is still in heaven opening the seals and and all from that title deed of the earth but those who claim that this angel that is speaking is jesus uh attach obviously this angel that is speaking to the angel from chapter 10 and they will say well look he just said i will give power to my two witnesses so that must be the lord and yet if you go down to verse 8 it is also the angel that is still speaking that says where our lord was crucified and certainly the lord wouldn't have spoken that about himself in that matter bit unclear i'll give you that and when the bible is unclear i try to stay unclear that makes no sense at all but if i'm not going to take a stand on that i'm just telling you how my persuasion i don't think it matters at all what your conclusion is for those things i don't have a good argument for you in either direction except for the ones that i presented to you back then but but needless to say this angel speaks with great authority and if he says i give if i'm giving power to my two witnesses it could certainly be the declaration of the angel who is he's bringing forth god's word just like he did in in verse one and in verse two as far as as when these two witnesses come upon the scene the other big to do in bible commentary land is there are some people that would like to put place these two witnesses either in the first part of the tribulation or somehow straddling the middle on one side of the other and there are some good arguments for both um and then there are some poor arguments for both if you put them in the first three and a half years when there is peace and and and the antichrist is really wooing his way to the hearts of men then they become prophets who warn the nation of israel with with tremendous power and i think would almost negate the fact of the fact that the lord wants you know this to go forward and allow this man of sin to to establish himself this is what god has said would take place um i have a hard time placing them there if they are in the first three and a half years then at the time the antichrist is revealed then they are killed as we will read here and the jewish nation will run for cover as we will see in the weeks to come to the place that the lord has prepared for them revelation chapter 12 and upon their deaths then these 144 000 jewish witnesses take over just a big argument it's a hard argument for me because everything's chronological and needs to be placed i think as the lord gives it to us the other thing just to have you thinking it through back in chapter 9 verse 12 we we read one woe is past behold two more woes are coming after these things and that was after the fifth trumpet then um later on in chapter 11 verse 14 tonight we'll end with the second woe is passed behold the third woe is coming quickly and it does seem like those statements of woe um maintain the chronology it maintains definite time references one that follows another it is less vital obviously to know which 1200 and 50 for 60 days they are ministering than to see that during this time of tremendous judgment god has done everything he can to be sure that no one misses who he is right in other words there's tremendous judgment god is righteous to judge there is a point where just grace is over in fact by the time we get to chapter 14 or chapter 15 heaven is closed and the and the salvation of any is done the judgment is now severe there's no more hope hope stops judgment falls even the lord will close heaven and said he doesn't want anyone around him at all until these judgments are finished it's almost the lord's heart is so grieved and what he has to do is is horrible that's not what he wants but is what men have cried out for so i i i in the sense of how do i place these things i i'm still more comfortable placing all of this in the second half of the tribulation where the antichrist is is now demanding and and the judgment of god is now lived out in the in the eyes of the people by these very powerful witnesses that he raises up in in particular these two jewish men who have certainly a history and a relationship to israel history as the 144 000 from the 12 tribes do we read in verse three and i don't want to confuse you i'm just i don't want you to not tell you what what is out there as well so um so don't be confused if you are sorry verse three i will give power to these two my witnesses to prophesy for three and a half years and notice they are closed in and sackcloth they are clothed in sackcloth remember what we said when we started this is israel the nation through whom god is now working again he goes back to finish through them and with them the things that he has promised to them sackcloth wasn't a good thing to wear it was made from caramel's hair and camel skin worn inside out so that really the the the prickly sticky rubbing against your skin is not comfortable it's like you know this just hurts but it was really the old testament method of the most used old testament method for outwardly showing remorse for sin it's almost like beating yourself you know i'm going to put one of these camel hair pants on backwards and i'm going to just you know suffer in my repentance it's a symbol of the affliction of the flesh i think you know it just you just mortified that which you have done it was also the common garb often time in the old testament for the prophet when he came to demand of the people faith and obedience and and called them to a covenant relationship with the lord but here the covenant relationship with the nation is being made with an antichrist right they're devoted to him he's our savior he's our deliverer he's building our temple we're gonna he's gonna lead us and he's gonna guide us and so while the world applause this the peace that he seems to be bringing these two will say otherwise and they will they will be a force to be reckoned with they will bear eternal fruit but the i think the big picture is god puts himself on display not even very often in the new testament does he make this kind of proclamation you'll see him raise the dead a couple of times okay that's a big proclamation but more often than not it's to individuals that he ministers to and these these very overt miracles of god um are are more often than not not used to declare who he is it's more often that for the people who know him but not always so so to send these two guys breathing fire and calling down you know plagues and and stopping the rain and these guys are just nothing but an irritant if you don't want to walk with god and yet they can't be ignored i'm sure they're on the cover of time magazine men of the year if there is still eight men of the year so there's no way to avoid these guys and they're here to say god's ways are right and death too just awaits those who put him aside important to see the we read in verse 4 these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that are standing before the god of the earth now if you read that just on your own and you haven't read through some of the prophets this might sound more than a little cryptic you read and you go what in the world is he talking about but it is actually a direct quote clear reference to an old testament passage that i want to have you flipped you for a few minutes with me if you could it should be in your notes so maybe some of you have looked there already but we want to go to zechariah chapter 4. if you're not comfortable with old testament books yet go to matthew and then just back up two books right matthew malachi zechariah so it's not that far away from your new testament if you will zechariah chapter four while you're finding that zechariah was a prophet that god sent to the returned captives from the babylonian captivity who had gone home to rebuild of all things the temple that had been destroyed 70 years earlier we are told in several places in the scriptures that 50 000 or so jewish exiles went home it was 536 bc they quickly laid the foundation for the temple it was an important issue i think we talked about last week it was the only place man that is sinful could meet with god who was holy it was the the the instrument and the apparatus and the method by which your sin could be covered it all spoke of what jesus would come to do but until he came to do it this ko far this covering would take place through the sacrifices of animals than the blood that they shed so they quickly got to that they hadn't been able to to approach the lord like that in 70 years the problem was by the time that the foundation was laid the people got you know well there's a little pressure pressure politically from the people around them to not continue there was a tremendous lustful demand in their own hearts for their own house gosh we're still living in an intent how about we build my house then we'll build his house and exactly that's what they did and for for the next 16 years that that poor foundation just sat there it was then that the lord in 520 sent haggai and zechariah to say really really i brought you back here to do this and you put me second and so they're prophesying or prophesying prophecying they're prophesying saying got them on the ball and within four years this temple was finished so that's the book that iraq zechariah is given by the lord a series of visions and you can read haggai as well from the lord to speak of the various needs of the people and to assure them that god would enable them to build this temple and to establish themselves as his people again the message in chapter 4 here in zechariah is directed to zerubbabel his name is mentioned in verse six and seven and nine and eleven zerubbabel was the governor at the time joshua not the one you're thinking of in the old testament but joshua was the high priest and and they were responsible for moving the children of israel in the ways of the lord both the spiritual leader and the political leader if you will so this was written to zerubbabel and i want to read it since it's only 14 verses read it through with you one time and then kind of we'll go back and look at it real quickly so we we're not lost here in revelation it says this in verse 1. now the angel who spoke or talked with me came back woke me up as a man who'd been awakened out of his sleep and he said to me what do you see so i said i am looking there is a lamp stand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it and on the stand there are seven lamps with seven pipes to those seven lamps and there are two olive trees beside it one on the right one on the left and he answered and he said to me as he talked the angel who talked to me and he said what are these my lord and the angel who talked with me told me and said do you not know what these are and i said no my lord and he said to me this is the word that the lord has given to zerubbabe that it isn't by might nor by power but by his spirit saith the lord of hosts who are you o great mountain before zerubbabel you shall become a plain and he shall bring forth a capstone with shouts of grace grace to him moreover the word of the lord came to me and said the hand of zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this temple his hands also must must finish it then you will know that the lord of hosts has sent me to you for who has despised the days of small things for these seven rejoice to see the plum line in the hands of jeru of zurubal and the eyes of the lord would scan through and fro throughout the whole earth and so i said to him then what are these two olive trees one to the right and the lamb stam one to the left and i further answered and he said and i further answered and said to him what are these two olive trees that drip into the receptacles of these two golden pipes from which the the gold oil drains and he says do you not know what these are and he says no my lord he said these are the two anointed ones who will stand before the lord of the whole earth so i think these last two verses would would draw at home for you as well so zechariah is given this vision and the vision is is very jewish it's of a menorah if you will or of a candelabra they were kept in the holy place in the temple they were tended to by the by the priests every day there were seven little cups in which were poured oil and then a wick was placed in them and it was designed to speak about the light of the lord and and the light of god's presence in in in being with and enabling if you will his people the tasks for the priest was tedious it required constant diligence but here's the solution and as he begins to think about the vision as the angel begins to describe it to him here this particular candlestick holder has some very strange kind of peculiarities number one it was made of solid gold with a large bowl over the top there were seven pipes if you will running to these seven little cups to provide the oil that needed to be refilled all the time where the wicks were and all and attached to this big bull ran these arms if you will from two olive trees so the olive trees to fly the oil which ones to the to the bulls or the cups which continue to light and it literally he explained a fully automated candlestick if you will the application for zerubbabel and the people of this vision was given by the angel in verses four five and six that here is elsewhere in the the scriptures the oil which is representative of the work of the holy spirit god tells the the prophet that the holy spirit would enable this work to go forward that though there were challenges and difficulties that god would accomplish the work it's not by your strength or power it's by god's spirit and it is this beautiful picture of you know what they would have to do on their own daily to keep it going that the lord would do that work for them he draws this very beautiful kind of picture so they shouldn't be overwhelmed by the impossibility of the task or they're overwhelmed by the challenge that was before them just trust the lord to do the work he could work and he will work and so um in verse 7 we are told that the work would be accomplished by the hand of god that he would level mountains and and produce cheers of grace when all was said and done people would stand back and say oh the lord has done that he's amazing and people would begin to worship today the church is called to reach the lost that's quite a task in our generation quite a challenge to make disciples in the midst of opposition and great difficulty an overwhelming challenge and yet the church isn't built by man's wisdom it's built by the work of god's spirit through his word we need less planning more praying to be honest with you we need more of his strength not our own we need inspiration not perspiration we need god to work and so during this time of great tribulation god will choose two men empowered by the spirit to do this work of of representing the lord at a very trying time and when they are finished and that'll be the words we'll read here in a minute in revelation 11 when they had finished the lord will call them home but it isn't their work it's his work in them it isn't our work to reach the laws it's it's his work in us you walk with the lord you keep his word in your mouth god will do the rest you pray and rest it isn't dependent of god doesn't need your help but he's looking for available hearts always the case so unless you get you know in your head that i got to do this for jesus all he wants from you is availability the ability he'll provide but if you're looking at your ability man you're always going to be frustrated because it's it's bigger than us isn't it and more challenging for sure but through these two men god will powerfully move in his spirit to to save even as the mountains will become planes before them and the obstacles will be removed by his grace so here in one verse or in one chapter i should say written you know 12 maybe 5 18 5 19 bc god makes reference to something that we're still looking forward to but you're noticing here in verse 13 and 14 the reference to these two who will stand anointed upon the lord by the lord on the earth and so let's go back to revelation now so we kind of keep that in mind you can write that in in your notes if you will but notice what we read in verse 3 i will give power to these two witnesses that they would prophesy three and a half years they would be clothed in in sackcloth as prophets they are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the god of the earth exactly what we just read in chapter 4 verse 13 and 14 of zechariah verse 5 and if anyone wants to harm them fire will proceed from their mouth and devour their enemies this is a cool gift and if anyone wants to harm them he must be killed in this manner oh man they shall have power to shut up heaven so that no rain will fall in the days of their prophecy and they have power over the waters to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire these dudes are bad dudes aren't they i mean imagine in the midst of all that we read these two guys hanging around right and the power and the protection that the lord gives them in no uncertain terms they have tremendous authority but as we just read in zechariah if you have that kind of power you really do want the lord to guide you you don't want to get mad at something i said i think i'll toast that guy you know just breathe on it so fire from their mouths that kill oppressors no rain from the clouds in the sky all the plagues as often as they desire no more is said about this issue we i wish we got a whole chapter on what they were doing but it would be fun to think about you don't get told anything else this is it right except that god keeps them until their work is finished and their power may indicate to some extent who they're who these two witnesses are so you know the question then becomes well who are these two witnesses well let me just say this to you first it doesn't matter who they are because they're coming and the lord is going to use them and when they breathe fire and toast somebody that'll be one of the two witnesses right there you'll be sure but barring the fact that you won't be here and i don't think you'll be watching from heaven you'll be too busy having sunday night thursday night worship you know with the lord let's take a look and see what we think may be taking place [Music] i think that the first witness without doubt is elijah we only know that because the bible says so it's always easy when the lord gives you insight malachi chapter 5 4 verse 5 says behold i will send you elijah before that great and dreadful day of the lord he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children the hearts of the children to their fathers lest i come and strike the earth with a curse but he behold i send you elijah before that great and awful day of the lord that same reference as always to the great tribulation when zechariah the priest was intending to the candelabra when he was working in the temple his his week of commitment zacharias was the future father to john the baptist the angel gabriel came to him in chapter 1 of luke and he told him he was going to have a son they were beyond bearing years certainly he and his wife elizabeth had given up i think having a child it just didn't seem to be something the lord had for them but he is told he's going to have his son and then the angel says to him in verse 17 of luke 1 he will go before him speaking of the messiah jesus in the spirit and in the power of elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children the disobedient to the wisdom of the just he might prepare a people for the lord so when john the baptist before he was born the angel already kind of associates the ministry of john which was the the forerunner of jesus for his first coming to elijah and this prophecy that we just read there in mount uh malachi chapter 4. years later when john the baptist came to ministry when he came and and and people began to be drawn to him the scribes and pharisees came to him and said are you elijah and he said no i'm not elijah i'm just the voice of one crying in the wilderness makes straight the ways of the lord just as the prophet isaiah said i would do at the death of john the baptist as jesus withdrew from ministry for a time to mourn i think more than anything else pulled his disciples kind of close to him they were out in ministry in the galilee or actually in the northern area jesus pointed out that john the baptist had prefigured if you will elijah's ministry and would yet continue to be that example of the fact that this is how elijah will come i'm sure for the second coming as he ran before the lord at the mount of transfiguration jesus appeared before three of the disciples along with moses and elijah and they were discussing jesus as soon exodus that's what the year is his his soon coming death as they got ready to leave jesus turned to these apostles and he talked to them about elijah's future ministry and he makes the point that john the baptist was just like him and he would be just like john the baptist so here's what matthew writes in chapter 17. he said to his disciples why then do the describe then his disciples said to him why then do the scribes say that elijah must come first and jesus said in indeed elijah is coming first to restore all things but i said to you that elijah has come already and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wish likewise the son of man is about to be suffering at their hands so jesus puts elijah in that frame of reference to john the baptist first coming second come now we have a witness that is going closely to the second coming of the lord out into the world if you will to witness for him but both of them john the baptist and elijah will call for the preparation the hearts of the men to receive a coming messiah in the description verse five and six of their power elijah exhibited the same kind of power in his ministry upon the earth you might go back and read ii second kings chapter one where elijah calls down fire from heaven upon two groups of 50 people and cooks them and a captain as well before um the third group begged him not to fry them king ahazai had sent these men to arrest him he wasn't ready to be arrested and so he had been chastening the king for worshiping a false god and so he spoke of the king's imposing death and the king didn't like it well let's throw him in jail well they didn't get to arrest him after all and the king did die even and it was erected it was you know to meet the lord if you will um here these 12 are sorry these two witnesses stop the rain as they like for as long as three and a half years we don't know if it's a global issue or it's an issue in jerusalem where a lot of this seems to be taking place it would be appropriate i guess to assume that is global in nature but we do know that one of the two men is going to be elijah james said of elijah that he was a man who had a nature just like ours and yet remember he prayed that it wouldn't rain and for how long did it not rain for three and a half years and it's interesting the exact same amount of time and then he prayed again and it rained and the earth produced their fruit and so there's a lot of of scriptural evidence to tie elijah into this ministry you can read first kings i think chapter 17 as well as when he was sent and told the king it's not going to ring until i come back to see you so he was a weak man according to james a sinful man yet made powerful by the lord and we believe he will certainly be one of these two witnesses in fact if you go to a a seder a passover seder today by practice a young boy is usually sent to the door during the service to see if elijah has come back or not it's part of the religious practice if you will in fact you know there's usually a fifth cup of wine set out at the seder it's known as the cup of elijah as well as a chair that is set there at the table in case he shows up so the nation is expecting elijah and one day they're going to find him and so israel will certainly recognize him i think and and realize that the messiah cannot be far behind the second witness is a little bit more difficult there are a couple of choices i'll give you some of the the the the choices that some people especially well-known bible scholars have made some people say enoch enoch was mentioned you remember in jude chapter 14 where it says enoch was the seventh from adam and yet he was already prophesied at that time behold the coming of the lord with ten thousands of his saints and they said well you know that's a natural guy he's seventh generation from the beginning and he's already talking about the second coming of the lord to rule and reign with ten thousands of his saints a prophet with one hundred percent accuracy if you will some people say enoch and so it could be i mean if you read enoch's story you remember that the father he was the father of methuselah methuselah lived to be the oldest man ever known in the bible he died in the year of the flood but enoch was his father we do know a couple of things that at 65 years old enoch methuselah and we don't know what happened but we do know that according to the scriptures when his son methuselah was born he turned to the lord and for the next 300 years so he was 365 he walked with god and then one day the lord just took him he disappeared he was raptured in an old testament sense he was not because the lord took him alive to heaven and like elijah enoch didn't die but he was caught up into heaven um those who support the thought that it is enoch will quote to you hebrews 9 27 and say well you know the bible said it is appointed unto men once to die and then the judgment and so he hasn't died and so he must be the guide and to which i usually reply well in the rapture millions of people are not going to die so maybe that's not your best argument and it seems to me that enoch is set forth more than anything else to show us god's deliverance and his rapture of the church before the judgment this time the flood if you will there are other people who suggest that zerubbabel is the guy from ezekiel this ezekiel zechariah chapter 4 which we just read they will add this verse out of hagen i'll read it to you as their argument speak to zerubbabel the governor of judah and say to him i'm going to shake the heavens and the earth i'm going to overthrow the thrones of kingdoms i'm going to destroy the strength of the gentile kingdoms and overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them their horses and their writers will come down everyone by the sword of his brother in that day saith the lord of hosts i will take you zerubbabel my servant saith the lord and i will make you a signet ring for i have chosen you saith the lord and that is the verse that they then stand with and hang on to and say it must be zerubbabel let me give you my pick since i got up mike and it does like i said doesn't matter but i think it's probably moses for a couple of reasons who better to speak to the nation about old testament law sacrifices than the law giver himself moses represents the law elijah the prophets they've already worked together at the mount of transfiguration they seem to already have a deal together right and they were there with jesus speaking about his sacrifice like elijah verse 5 moses also saw the fire of god bringing judgment and consuming those around him who defied the lord it started there in in leviticus chapter 10 when the place of worship was finished and god sent fire down from heaven and the first sacrifice was consumed in the eyes of all of the people so they would know this is acceptable to god but then aaron's two boys nadab and the bayou who had been drinking a little bit according to what you read in leviticus chapter 10 decided man this is too exciting to not get in on it they let some fires but they didn't light them from the lord's power they lit it by their however they made fire and then they started running around the fire of the lord and the lord let the fire jump out of the offering and kill both of them and then the lord spoke to aaron that before the people he's to be glorified nobody else gets glory but him i'm the one that you should be worshipping and acknowledging so moses was there to see it when there was a dissatisfaction with moses leadership and it was more than once but in particular this one time in numbers chapter 16 there was a fella named korra who had organized a bunch of leadership people to go and stand against moses and just to question whether he should be the leader if you will or not and so god sent fire and he took out core in his entire family to say to the people yeah i've chosen moses and then there were 250 other guys who went yeah we still don't think he should be the one they went away too so yeah it's probably better not to mess with the lord you know while moses was in egypt exodus chapter 7 [Music] he saw by the hand of the lord the waters of egypt turned to blood in fact if you read verse six here it says all of the plagues there seems to be a reference to the plagues that god has brought upon others in judgment before and so moses for the for those nine months of of those ten plagues was someone that the lord had used so i personally believe it's going to be elijah and moses two old testament prophets crying out to the nation of israel as the nation again resorts to old testament sacrifice to a rebuilt temple and to be honest to a practice that is a total offense to god because his son has already been sent this is not going to be the place you're going to find deliverance but for those three and a half years notice that these two witnesses are protected by the lord they cannot be stopped and any attempt to harm them leaves you as burnt toast so i i don't whoever they are i hope that the impression will be upon the people that are left behind all right i'm giving in he's the lord that would be your hope but again we'll read time and time again it doesn't seem to always work in the hearts of the people verse 7 says when they finish their testimony the beast that ascends out of the bodiless pit will make war against them and he will overcome them and he will kill them so at the end of their work three and a half years they will be opposed and not be able to be touched no doubt some had tried and fried that's my remembrance but here the antichrist possessed by satan himself will turn against these two and will be given the ability to eliminate them or to kill them in fact we will read in verse 10 those that stand on the earth will rejoice over them they will make mary sending gifts to one another because these two prophets tormented those who dwell upon the earth oh they couldn't be happier that these guys have been killed until god is through with them though notice verse 7 when they had finished their testimony i want you to underline that because that's true for for you until god has done with you you're bulletproof unless you're just a knucklehead i mean you can put yourself where you don't belong but if you're walking with the lord i think you're invincible until he's finished with you you're off limits right whatever the enemy would want to do to you so when you're done though i don't want to be here 10 minutes after god's done with me but i don't want to leave early either right you just want to get done what he has given you to do so at the three and a half year mark so again we're real close to the end which is why i said all of these compressed chapters i think just take place over a matter of days and weeks they will be killed verse 8 their bodies dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city in jerusalem which spiritually know is called sodom and go and egypt which also where also our lord has been crucified and then those from the people and tribes tongues and nations will see their dead bodies for three and a half days and they won't be allowed to put their dead bodies into the grave while verse 10 the the world rejoices over their death the great city jerusalem and notice that the lord now describes them by their spiritual condition he compares them to sodom and gomorrah and to egypt now if you go to i think ezekiel chapter 4 16 verse 49 there is a description of sodom and gomorrh and this description is they were wicked and immoral and perverse and lazy and would not take any concern for the poor they were a wicked place now god is calling the place where he had put his name sodom and gomorrah can you imagine and then he compares them to egypt which at least in the bible spiritually is always that place where where man lives in the world bound to his flesh you know against god and all that god cares for and life with without for which you know you'll never get free of unless the lord brings you out as he did his children so unfortunately in the tribulation there will be a spiritual climate of the hearts of those in and around jerusalem and this is what it will look like they will have a temple they have religion but their hearts will be far from god nothing has really changed in that regard they will they will reinstitute the sacrificial system and notice just to be sure you understood verse 8 says this is where the lord died now i don't suspect he has to when i read this i say to myself it seems like it would be unnecessary to redefine that that was jerusalem after you just said it was the great city spiritually um but it could very well be that where where the temple is going to be on mount moriah there that that's the place that they're going to be killed you know that's where the the conflict is going to be the antichrist is there demanding to be worship and they're there to say that's a bad idea so it'll be a public conflict or a spectacle and and yet at this point when they're finished their testimony for three and a half days they'll lie dead in the streets and they won't even be allowed to be buried now you might say that's that's not very common in decency but understand to a jewish mindset this is especially repugnant you know jews to this day do funeral funerals the same day as somebody dies within 24 hours so we are told that the whole world will views them which is interesting isn't it the whole world will be watching and if you think about that until 60 years ago that was technologically impossible so there's another good reason to think the lord is coming soon you can now watch it you know we can now watch off the off the head of a of a missile around the world crashing into its intended target and we we can see everything real time now right so before satellite transmissions tv feeds the idea of anyone seeing everything in the same place was a a pipe dream today it's a reality and i don't know what john was thinking when he wrote this how in the world is that ever going to happen he didn't ask he just wrote down what he was told i'm sure that the contemporaries of john read this and thought he was out of his mind maybe they chided him how is the whole world going to see anything ever he just faithfully wrote what he had written down so here's another good indicators of the days in which you live the technology has caught up with the bible's predictions by the way we'll have another technological need in chapter 13 when uh the antichrist wants to track everyone that's been marked and you don't buy or sell without his mark pretty sure that's going to be some kind of computer how awesome is our god verse 10 notice the response the world sees the death of these two witnesses as a cause for great rejoicing they make mary by the way that's a literal word for throwing a party they have people over hey have a beer on us they're dead finally it's about time these guys have been ridiculous they've tormented those on the earth how have they done that they've preached the gospel imagine that that the testimony the gospel and the sometime immediate consequence of lashing out at the gospel is called torment it must have been it must have given the antichrist a leg up when these people died oh he we're on the right side of things now certainly the treatment of god's prophets have never been good read read the last four or five verses of hebrews 11. then we read in verse 11 but after three and a half days the breath of life from god entered them they stood on their faith and as you might suspect great fear fell upon all those who saw them and they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them come up here that's exactly by the way what read it about you and i in chapter four verse one met at after these things come up here and they ascended in heaven in a cloud and their enemies saw it in that same hour there was a great earthquake a tenth of the city fell in the earthquake seven thousand people died and the rest were afraid and they began to give god the glory to the god of heaven so the world rejoices when god's witnesses are killed but their rejoicing doesn't last long then they arise this is going to be cool i can't wait they come to you know the public resurrection of these two men of god shakes people to this core and the great rejoicing of verse 10 becomes great fear in verse 11. see that doesn't last long imagine this coverage going to the ends of the earth we interrupt our regularly scheduled program for this breaking news event the dead guys are no longer dead no this is no trick this is no deal this is true we've seen it oh no oh no we've been so happy the last couple of days but then after their resurrection what happens there's great fear upon the people in their hearts towards the lord and these guys their job is finished their ascension takes place before unbelieving eyes there's an earthquake it is localized we are told it is localized ten percent of the city is destroyed seven thousand people in the city die and the rest of jerusalem who survived are left afraid and are now willing to consider the lord of glory so a remnant who now belong to the lord for good are found in jerusalem and the the nation of israel is beginning to turn in greater and greater numbers to the lord and we will see that especially as we get to chapter 12 how god is going to keep one third of all of the jews alive at that time will be saved and delivered we know the number because the bible tells us verse 14 says as a second woe is now past and behold a third woe is coming and again that word quickly and and immediately and you'll you just you can't escape the fact that the lord wants us to know that even though we have all these chapters it's going to go really quick until he comes in chapter 19. next week we are going to see the seventh trumpet sound but only in heaven can you say wasn't something that's supposed to happen yes right after the trumpet sound or the or the you know the uh whenever the seventh anything took place there's always something that happens but this time it only happens in heaven and i should say it's heard in heaven nothing happens upon the earth for a little while because we still got to do chapter 11 12 13 and 14 and 15. but in heaven the trumpet sounds and everyone goes the lord's in charge now and there's nothing left to be done so again verse 15 says the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our lord and of his christ he'll reign forever and ever and the worship begins and the the temple of god is opened in heaven and and thunder and lightning everybody's excited but but though that that is the reaction of heaven god is still filling in the pages and so we're going to do the rest of chapter 11 next week then we're going to look at israel for a couple of weeks and how god is going to save them and plan for their care then we're going to look at the unholy trinity in chapter 13. there is an unholy trinity um and then we'll kind of go from there all right so who are the two well you decide for yourself all right let's pray father we thank you tonight for your word to us so excited lord to see that you've given us so much to think about and go on we've got all these scriptures to lay next to one another to to see if we can just determine what you're wanting to say to us and you told us that we should study to show ourselves approved that that learning god's word doesn't just come through osmosis it isn't it isn't good enough to carry the bible around we got to open it up and read it and study and compare and seek to learn and lord we're so thankful that you've given us a church full of people that are hungry to know you and and have their bibles not just in their hands but in their hearts so may you continue to just guide us especially as we we think about lord how how these two witnesses are going to so stand out i mean the whole world is going to rejoice when they die the whole world is going to hear every person every tongue every language of the gospel they're going to be presented with the grace of god yet again before that time runs out and heaven is closed and and graces is no more there is still this this lash ditch ever effort on the part of our god to reach his creation and we know that though god is in charge he has given to man a choice and he is held responsible for it but lord i can't but imagine that this choice would be anything but an easy choice to make having seen what these witnesses can do and what the antichrist is demanding so lord may we continue to choose you over the world choose you over this life choose you first make you our king our lord and if he's not your lord tonight you still have time to confess your sins to him and go to the cross where jesus died and and see him dying for your sins because he did just that he became sin though he knew no sin so that you could be made right with god if you're here tonight we'd love to pray with you to receive the lord you can come and talk to one of the pastors up front if you're over in the overflow room to the north of us here there'll be a pastor in there for you as well if you're online today like many of you listen and i would encourage you if you're living close by get out of your house come down here and join us it's time to be in fellowship it's not church to be sitting at home i'm glad you're listening but the body needs you and you need them but if you're listening at home wherever you are in the world go down that description box at the bottom there of the youtube page and follow the links there and they'll take you to a page that that talks about receiving the lord into your life and what god promises to do if you'll call upon him so god's going to do a work in you he's his desire is that you would be saved he doesn't want you to go through this tribulation doesn't want you to have to face his judgment he doesn't rejoice in the death of the wicked but the lord wants your life but you see for love to be valuable and meaningful it has to be chosen god has chosen to send his son god has chosen to take your sins god has chosen to lay his life down for you but you need to choose now to follow him and to receive what he has offered to you with arms that are open your heart ready if you'll do that god will meet you here and give you life oh how he wants you to have life

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Id: FuqW817UzG0

Length: 55min 6sec (3306 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 24 2021