®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

WEEK 11: The Two Witnesses. – Revelation 11:1-19 • Last week

- LAST WEEK: o The 70 weeks (years) of Daniel 9

§ A 490-year prophetic timeline § But with one missing 7-year period – the Tribulation § We are living in “the gap” – the church age

o The mighty angel § The message of the seven thunders – to remain sealed § The little scroll – to be eaten (sweet and bitter) § The rest of the prophecy – to be shared

• John is about to receive additional insight into the future • As always, there is debate regarding this passage • Do we take it literally or figuratively? • There are questions as to its meaning • There are disagreements as to the nature of the characters mentioned

and the time period portrayed • We are going to take it as literally as it appears to be presented

“If we spiritualize this passage and apply any of it to the church, we will be in serious trouble." – Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines of the New Testament

• Measuring the temple – vs 1-2

- John is ordered to measure the temple - But he is only to measure…

…the Holy Place …the Holy of Holies …the Court of Israel …the Court of the Priests …and the Court of the Women “do not measure the court outside the temple…” – vs 2

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

- He is NOT to measure the Court of the Gentiles - The act of measuring has to do with ownership And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” – Zechariah 2:1-2 ESV And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. – Ezekiel 40:5 ESV - John is told to measure…

…the temple …the altar (brazen altar) …and all who worship there

- God is concerned with the spiritual condition of His people – the Jews - John was to “measure” the Court of the Israelites, not the Court of the Gentiles - The brazen altar was where the sacrifice for atonement was made

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. – Leviticus 17:11 ESV - God was measuring His people – for good, not evil - He has a plan for them - But He also has a plan for those outside – the Gentiles - The coming desolation

o It will last for 42 months – 3-/12 years o This is the second half of the Tribulation – The Great Tribulation

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. – Daniel 9:27 ESV

o Antichrist will desecrate the temple

Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. – Daniel 11:31 ESV So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. – Matthew 24:15-16 ESV It [the false prophet] performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. – Revelation 13:13-15 ESV

• The two witnesses – vs 3-13 - God reveals to John His two witnesses - martys – witnesses

o This is the same word from which we get “martyr” - They are prophets of God

o They will prophesy for 1260 days – 3-1/2 years o This is the second half of the Tribulation o They will declare God as the source behind the judgments o They will declare the guilt of all those under His judgment

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

o They will be dressed in sackcloth – a sign of mourning - But who are they?

o They are described as the two lampstands and the two olive trees o But there has been a lot of speculation as to their identity

…Israel and the church …Israel and the Word of God …Moses and Elijah …Enoch and Elijah …But the text does not tell us their identity

o We get some clue from Zechariah 4 § Zechariah is given a vision of a golden lampstand § It has a bowl on the top of it with seven lips § The lips empty into seven lamps § There are two olive trees on either side of the lampstand § Verse 10 says the seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lord § Verse 14 says the two olive trees are the two anointed ones § They represent Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbubal § One was responsible for restoring the people, the other for restoring the

temple o This is another now/not yet prophecy o It would be fulfilled in part by Joshua (the high priest) and Zerubbabel o They would rebuild the post-exilic temple o But it has an as-yet-fulfilled aspect to it o These two anointed ones will prepare the way for a FUTURE renewal of Israel o Their description as olive trees and lamps carry the idea of healing for sickness

and light to eliminate darkness o And they will have great powers

- The power of the two witnesses o The power to speak for God o The power to consume their enemies with fire o The power to prevent rain o The power to turn water to blood o The power to strike the earth with plagues

- The deaths of the two witnesses o When God deems their work done, the Antichrist will kill them o Their bodies will be left in the streets of Jerusalem for 3-1/2 days o The nations will rejoice over their deaths

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

Whoever they will be, they will be killed by the Antichrist. The beast mentioned in verse seven is most likely a reference to Satan himself. He will work through the powers that be, namely Antichrist, the one-world ruler, to see that these two witnesses are eliminated. And their deaths will be celebrated by all. Their bodies will remain unburied and on display for 3-1/2 days. The people of Jerusalem will rejoice over their demise, even turning their deaths into a holiday where presents are exchanged. It will be a distorted kind of Christmas. – Ken Miller, The End Devotionary

- The resurrection of the two witnesses

o God will miraculously bring them back to life o And great fear will come on all those who say them o Most likely, their deaths will be televised worldwide o So, will their resurrections o God will call them back to heaven

- The final witness of the two witnesses o Their resurrections will have a dramatic impact on the Jews

…the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. – Revelation 11:13 ESV o The giving of glory is always a sign of genuine repentance in the book of

Revelation

“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” – Revelation 14:7 ESV They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. – Revelation 16:9 ESV

• The seventh trumpet – vs 15-18

- The final of the three woes is about to begin - With it will come the seven bowl judgments - The first half of the book of Revelation has come - There is a premonition of what is to come

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 11:15 ESV - There is a premonition of what is to come - This announcement causes rejoicing in heaven - Vs 18 – “you have taken your great power and begun to reign” - It is as if it has already happened - The time for judging the dead has come - The time for rewarding the righteous has come

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

- The time for destroying the destroyers has come - The bowl judgments are still to come, but the end is near

• The heavenly temple – vs 19 - The scene shifts to heaven - This is not the earthly temple, but the heavenly one - John sees into the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant is - This area was off-limits to all but the high priest - God opens up the Holy of Holies - This was off-limits to all but the high priest - It will be totally accessible to God’s people

The mercy of God - The ark of the covenant is topped by the mercy seat

o Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies o He would sprinkle the mercy seat with the blood of the sacrificed animals o This made atonement for the sins of the people

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. – Hebrews 9:24-28 ESV

The judgment of God - The vision of the Holy of Holies is accompanied by…

…lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and heavy hail - There will be mercy for God’s people - But there will be judgment for all unbelievers - The seven bowl judgments are yet to come

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

Week 12 Homework: The Woman and the Dragon. – Revelation 12:1-17 • Read Revelation chapter 12, as well as pages 105-113 of the Devotionary™ blog. • We are going to have an extended break between chapter 11 and chapter 12, so take your

time. You may even want to spend some time over the holidays reading through the second half of the book of Revelation to help you get a better idea of what we will be covering in the spring.

• After having read through all of chapter 12, write down who you believe the woman and

the dragon are meant to represent. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

Read Genesis 37:9-11 and make note of any similarities you find. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Verse 6 indicates that the woman will flee into the wilderness for a period of 1260 days, which is 3-1/2 years. Based on what we have studied so far, what period do you think is speaking of? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

• Read Daniel 7:7-8, 24. What similarities to you find between Daniel’s description of the dragon and that of John?

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

According to verse 4, what is that the dragon wants to do with the child? How does this help you understand who the child may be? __________________________________________

®2018 Ken Miller BAND of BROTHERS is sponsored by MOMENTUM, the ministry to men at Christ Chapel Bible Church

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Read Matthew 2:16-18. Why did Herod kill all the male Hebrew babies in Bethlehem? What was he attempting to do? ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Who or what do you think was the motivating power behind his decision? _______________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

• Look at verses 5-6. By now, you have probably determined that the child represents Christ,

the Messiah, born into the nation of Israel (the woman). So, what does it mean when it says that the child “was caught up to God and his throne”?

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Where is Jesus at this moment? (Go back and look at chapter 5 for help. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

• Verses 7-9 predict a great battle between the forces of heaven and those of Satan. Read Daniel 12:1 and write down how he describes this scene. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

• According to verses 10-12, what is the result of this battle? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

• According to verses 13-17, what is Satan’s reaction to what happens? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________