Revelation 11:1-14 Two witnesses

Revelation 11:3-6 The reference to 42 months is most likely interpreted in light of the 1260 days that the two witnesses will prophesy. Whether these are human prophets, or could represent human organizations or institutions could be debated. They are described as olive trees and lampstands, which suggests the Holy Spirit.  Fire comes from their mouth to devour their enemies, which makes them sound like dragons. They are granted significant authority in prayer that sounds like Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh.

          Could these represent two branches of the church, e.g., the Eastern and Western churches that have been separate since shortly after the end of the Roman Empire? How do we interpret the fire they emit to destroy enemies? Our God is a consuming fire (Matthew 3:12, Luke 3:17, Hebrews 10:27 & 12:29). This passage suggests that under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the witnesses will not only exercise the authority of Moses and Aaron, they will have authority from God to literally consume their enemies with fire. An alternative might be that the words that proceed out of their mouths destroy their enemies with judgment of truth. Ultimately that will happen to all men, that as they live in rebellion against God and His word, and experience the logical consequences of their choices, unless they receive the rescue and redemption that Jesus offers. This passage suggests that in this era, as Christ is being unveiled, that ultimate outcome will be effected on their enemies immediately through the agency of His witnesses. And for the rest of mankind, there is the witness of the plagues of Egypt, revisited.

Revelation 11:7-10 These witnesses are not immortal. The beast has the ability to kill them, but only after they have finished their testimony. The whole world rejoices, which suggests that at this point, all believers have been expunged from the face of the earth. The beast forces those around them, in what we now understand to be Jerusalem, to leave their dead bodies unburied, laying in the streets. This contrasts the aftermath of the crucifixion, when the Jews insisted on burying Jesus before sunset. Perhaps the beast or Satan who inhabits him think that they can forestall God's power by leaving the bodies uncleanly in the streets.

Revelation 11:11-14 God is not affected by ceremonial uncleanness. Just as He raised Jesus after three days, He resurrects the two witnesses, waiting 3 1/2 days. But they do not need to witness for forty more days, so He takes them to heaven immediately, joining that elite group of those carried bodily into heaven such as Enoch, Elijah, Jesus, and the raptured saints. This is followed by an earthquake in which a tenth of Jerusalem is destroyed and 7,000 people are killed.  Interestingly, these events inspire enough fear in the onlookers that they glorify God, or at least give Him glory. Whether this goes beyond mere words is not stated. This concludes the second woe, which was introduced by the sixth trumpet. This brings not a respite but a warning of the immanence of the third woe, which follows. 

Revelation 11:1-2 The temple, the holy city, and the gentiles

Revelation 11:1-2 Measurement of the temple with a measuring rod evokes the vision that Ezekiel had of the temple. (Ezekiel 40-42) The temple in Ezekiel's vision was evidently not the physical temple in Jerusalem because it was much larger. However, there are no detailed dimensions in Revelation because the important fact is that the court outside the temple is not to be measured because it and the holy city of Jerusalem will be under the control of Gentiles for forty-two months. This seems to closely parallel Daniel 12:11, in which Daniel was told that it would be 1290 days from the time that that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up. Forty-two months is approximately 1278 days, at an average of 30.4375 days/month. Close but not an exact match.

          There seem to be two possible interpretations. One is that this refers to three and one-half years, that will occur during the end times, with the clock starting at some point at the beginning by the conquest of Jerusalem by Gentiles, and culminating in the abomination that makes desolate 3 1/2 years later. Daniel 11:31 and 12:11 were thought to have been fulfilled on December 25, 167 BC, when Antiochus IV Epiphanies sacrificed a pig to Zeus on the altar in the Jewish Temple. However, Jesus referred to the abomination of desolation in future tense as part of His end-time prophecy (Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14); therefore the act of AE must be viewed as a foreshadowing of a future greater abomination. In this interpretation, the antichrist, a.k.a. the man of sin, will lead an army that conquers Jerusalem and then 1290 literal days later will set up and carry out this spiritual abomination.

          A second possible interpretation is that these are figurative days, representing years, and that the time from Jerusalem being overrun by the Gentiles would be 1290 years before the Jews would regain control, in time for the end times to set up and the abomination to be enabled. But when would this clock begin? Jerusalem was sacked by the Roman army under the Roman general Titus in 70AD, which Jesus referred to in Mark 13:2. The trampling of Jerusalem under the Gentiles' feet was referred to in Luke 21:24. 1290 years after 70 AD would have been 1360 AD, well after the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem (1099 AD) and the Islamic armies reconquered it (1187 AD). Jerusalem was overrun by the Islamic armies the first time in 637AD. 1290 years later would have been 1927 AD. The Balfour declaration establishing a homeland for the Jews was issued in 1917. The Jewish nation of Israel was enabled by vote of the United Nations in 1947 to partition Palestine, and then declared in 1948 by the Jews with David Ben-Gurion leading them. The Jews regained control of Jerusalem in the six-day war in 1967 AD. Daniel's prophecy of a blessing on the one who endured to 1335 days would, if interpreted figuratively as years, point to 637AD + 1335 = 1972 AD. Is it only a curious coincidence that the Balfour declaration was 10 years less than 1290 years after Jerusalem surrendered to Caliph Umar, and Jerusalem was retaken by the Jews 5 years less than 1335 years after the same event?

Revelation 10:8-11 A taste of the angel's book

Revelation 10:8-11 The book in the angel's hand that John eats enacts a symbolic prophetic revelation. Something that initially tastes very sweet but causes indigestion. To what does this refer? The coming of the glory of God to the earth will bring the virtues associated with God's nature and character to earth in power. Heaven, in effect, will be on earth. That will be sweet. But because of the sinful rejection of God by humankind, this unveiling will bring enormous upheaval and tribulation to those living on the earth. People, nations, tongues, and kings will all experience the consequences of their rebellion against God. Those who reject God's holiness and want only His love will find His parousia [presence on earth] a bitter pill to swallow. John is going to lay it all out for them.

Revelation 10:1-7 Seven thunder peals end the mystery

Revelation 10:1-4 John heard another series of judgments, which remain to us a mystery. Psalm 29:3 suggests that the glory of God is revealed. 2 Samuel 22:14 and Job 37:4-5 suggest that this is the voice of God Himself. John 12:28-31 seem to suggest that to those who understand this voice from heaven (John being one of those who did understand it), God spoke of His glory being revealed through the sacrificial death of Jesus, through which He would draw all men to Himself. But this is all speculation. It is sealed up until the end times.

Revelation 10:5-7 This angel announces that the seventh trumpet will sound, and the mystery of God is finished. There will be no more delay, except that the sounding of the seventh trumpet is recorded in Revelation 11:15. Before the solving of the mystery occurs, there is a scene apparently set in Jerusalem. Why does this angel make a solemn oath? What is the mystery of God?

          The solemn oath that the angel swears by invokes God's eternal existence, and His creation of the heavens, the earth, and the sea. All of God's creation will participate in the unfolding drama of God's judgment and the revelation of His glory. All creation is in His hand. We cannot comprehend God's eternal existence but we recognize from the angel's oath that he is announcing to mankind what is about to happen.

          Revelation of the mystery of God is something that we cannot bear in the flesh. Moses gives us our first hint. (Exodus 33:20) Previously we noted that Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John had been overwhelmed by seeing a vision of God's glory. I Timothy 3:16 seems to define the mystery of godliness as the Incarnation - the veiling of the glory of God in human flesh. And so we might infer that the coming events will be the culmination of the revelation of the glory of God in human flesh, but no longer veiled. The seriousness of the angel's oath corresponds to the level of desire that believers have for this revelation, and the level of resistance that the world will mount (is mounting) to this event.

Revelation 8:7-9:21 The Trumpet Judgments (1-6)

Revelation 8:7-9:19 The trumpet judgments which follow, and the bowls of wrath, are strongly reminiscent of the ten plagues that are recorded in Exodus. Perhaps this is because Pharaoh's arrogance and rebellion against God is matched by that of the antichrist. Or perhaps it is because there are only a limited number of types of catastrophes that can affect humanity on this scale, although the planetary scale of these calamities dwarfs the plagues that were inflicted solely on Egypt.

Trumpet #	Citation	Egyptian plague
1	Rev 8:7: hail, fire, & blood; 1/3 earth, grass & trees burned up	Ex 9:18-26 Plague of hail, thunder, and fire
2	Rev 8:8-9: burning mountain thrown into sea; 1/3 of sea becomes blood, 1/3 of sea creatures die, 1/3 of ships destroyed	Ex 7:14-21 Water of Nile and all rivers, streams, pools, and reservoirs turned to blood; all fish die.
3	Rev 8:10-11: star (wormwood) falls and 1/3 of waters, rivers and springs, become bitter	Ex 7:14-21 Water of Nile and all rivers, streams, pools, and reservoirs turned to blood; all fish die.
4	Rev 8:12: 1/3 of sun, moon, and stars darkened; 1/3 of day dark	Ex 10:21-23 Plague of darkness
5	Rev 9:1-11: locusts released from the bottomless pit; torment men with scorpion-like stings	Ex 8:1-24 Swarms of frogs and gnats cover the land of Egypt; frogs from the Nile; gnats from the dust. Ex 10:12-20 Plague of locusts brought in by the east wind
6	Rev 9:13-19: army of 200,000,000 horsemen released, to kill 1/3 of mankind by fire, smoke, & brimstone	Ex 12:29-30 Death of the first-born of every household
7	Rev 11:15-15:6 God executes judgment as His kingdom engages in overcoming the nations and the power of Satan.	Exodus 10:7, 14:26-28 Egypt and Pharaoh’s army destroyed

The plagues of Egypt were a judgment inflicted to show the Egyptians the futility of worship of their gods. That is, not only were the gods of Egypt powerless against the wrath of the one true God, but their very nature, when distilled to its essence, was destructive and vile. And so when God enters into judgment with the world system, His actions similarly demonstrate that the distilled essence of the world-system is destructive and vile. Previously the seven seals had shown that human effort, when its essence was unsealed and released, was futile and destructive. And that is because it is based on Satan's values and methods. Worship of nature, commerce, science, or power leads to evil. None of these things are intrinsically evil in their proper place and context, but they are not gods and making them so by worshipping them leads to the inevitable judgment that now befalls mankind. The environment is something that man is responsible to God for as a steward, consistent with Genesis 1:28-31, but care for it is a responsibility to God, not an end in itself. Commerce and business are a means by which humans make a living in order to be able to survive, and also to have earthly goods to share with others (Ephesians 4:28), but making either business or "the economy" an end in itself is to worship the means. Science is the proper study of all that God has created, and the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 97:6), but science does not give meaning to life, and placing it as the be-all and end-all of life is to worship science, rather than the Creator of nature. Power is in essence the means of government, of leadership in human society at every level of social organization (Romans 13:1-7). But political power, especially when it results from or is mixed with the use of force (military or internal secret police) is not the summum bonum of life. God is all powerful and woe to those who believe that human power can trump God's. And in the trumpet judgments, God trashes these same human values, to make way for His kingdom to be established. (Hebrews 12:27-28)

Revelation 9:20-21 The bottom line on the first six trumpet judgments is that the rest of mankind did not repent. How hard their hearts will be. All pretense has been stripped away. No more pretending that mankind's way of doing things is good. No more confusion about what God commands or stands for. But men want their way, and cling to it like impudent two-year-olds.

Revelation 8:1-6 The Seventh Seal

Revelation 8:1-2 The breaking of the seventh seal puts the singing on hold for a while. Perhaps this is respect or awe for what is about to happen. The seventh seal unlocks the way for the angels to herald the next phase of judgments. Rather than mankind reaping fruit from cause and effect, it will now experience God's wrath. Perhaps this indicates that the wait ordered in Rev. 6:11 is over.

          Each of the seven angels standing before God will join in, but it appears these are herald trumpets, not musical instruments. Trumpets were ordained for some of the holidays under Mosaic law. This includes the revelation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:18), the Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24, Numbers 29:1), to summon the Israelites either to an assembly or as an alarm in case of an attack (Numbers 10:1-9), and on the first day of every month (Numbers 10:10). This is perhaps because trumpets were among the earliest instruments, and therefore appear frequently. So the purpose of these trumpeting angels in Revelation is to announce. And the Mosaic ceremonies foreshadow this role.

Revelation 8:3-6 An angel emerges and goes to the altar holding a vessel for holding frankincense. Olibanum has been used as a precious aromatic spice for at least 5,000 years and was part of the worship commanded in the Mosaic law for the tabernacle.  (Exodus 30:34)  It was also one of the gifts of the three wise men to Jesus as an infant. (Matthew 2:11)   A lot of incense is given to this angel, which is added to the prayers of believers (Rev. 5:8); perhaps the incense represents the intercession of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:26) All of this ascends before God, which ceremonially symbolizes that God is now going to respond and wait no longer. The angel, with God's evident blessing, then throws fire from the altar onto the earth, which manifests itself as thunder and lightning and an earthquake. This is reminiscent of the symptoms of God's visit to Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:16-18,  Hebrews 12:18,  Isaiah 29:6) except that this time, instead of the law being given by which mankind would be judged, the punishment for rejecting this law is now to be administered, through the agency of the seven trumpets, and subsequently the seven bowls. (Rev. 16)

Revelation 7:13-17 Who are the ones clothed in white before the Throne?

The origin of this vast multitude is now explained. These are the believers mentioned previously (Rev. 6:9-11) who have been killed for their faith in Christ, in the great tribulation, and have been given white robes. Their life is explained: a special provision by the Lamb for them to be with Him and to be ministered to by Him. Some extraordinary promises:

•    They serve Him day and night in His temple.

•    He spreads His tabernacle over them.

•    They do not hunger or thirst.

•    They do not feel the heat of the sun.

•    The lamb will guide them to the springs of living water.

•    God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Evidently this special group will receive these blessings separate from those of believers who die before the great tribulation. Perhaps the emphasis on the number of them communicates just how bloodthirsty the evil is, in that it attempts to exterminate every single believer in Jesus on the face of the earth. Estimates in 2010 suggest that such a multitude would number over 2 billion. However, one possible suggestion is that the catching away of the church (1 Thess. 4:16-17) precedes the great tribulation as the lawless one will not be revealed until the one who restrains is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-9) It is possible that this catching away would remove the two billion plus Christians from the world (roughly a third of the earth's population), so that this special assembly of the multitude clothed in white is those who come to faith after this catching-away, and face the wrath of the man of sin. Even in our day, mass execution of Christians is being practiced in small areas that fall under the control of certain terrorist extremists. This reveals the heart of the devil in those who allow him full sway in their lives. The emphasis of this passage is that this multitude has experienced severe hardship and therefore receives a special measure of the compassion and tender care of Jesus.