Old Testament Reading: Job 1:1-12

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did continually. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’ Then Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:1–12, ESV)

Sermon Text: Revelation 12:7-17

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’ And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 12:7–17, ESV)

Introduction

Remember that in Revelation 12:1-6 John described for us a sign that he saw in heaven. And we discovered that the sign he saw revealed something to us about the ancient and spiritual battle that rages in the invisible realm beyond our senses. The battle is very old, stretching all the way back to the time of the fall of man. And the battle is very real. Though we do not see it, we do see the effects of it. This spiritual battle manifests itself in the world even today. The evil that we see in the world – the trials and tribulations that God’s people face – are visible manifestations of this ancient cosmic conflict.

In particular Revelation 12:1-6 revealed that it is the dragon, “that ancient serpent… called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world”, who is the primary opponent of God, his people, and of his Christ.

The dragon is there portrayed as a viscous opponent of God who, before the birth of Christ, pursued the people of God, in an attempt to swallow up the Christ of God.  Indeed, the history of redemption is filled with examples of this invisible battle manifesting itself in the world. Cain rose up and killed Able, but God provided Seth. The world was filled with wickedness before the flood, but God showed grace to Noah and to his family. Abraham and his seed were threatened continuously, particularly by the bareness of Sarah, but God fulfilled his promise by bringing forth Isaac his son. Jacob’s offspring were swallowed up by Egypt and were enslaved there, but God sent Moses to redeem them. And when the people left Egypt only to find themselves stuck between the sea and the army of Pharaoh, God divided the waters for them, so that they might walk through on dry land. When Israel was threatened by hunger and thirst in the wilderness, God provided water from the rock and bread from heaven. God gave Israel victory over all her enemies and brought her safely into the land promised to her. When false prophets and wicked people multiplied in Israel, God kept a remnant for himself. When taken to captivity by the Babylonians, God was faithful to bring some back. And so things were until, when the fullness of time had come, the Christ was born.

And he too was pursued by the dragon. When Jesus was born Herod sought to kill him. He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to abandon his mission. He was despised and rejected by men. In the end he was crucified. Surely Satan thought that he had finally succeeded when the Christ was crucified, but he new that he was defeated when Christ rose again and “was caught up to God and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5, ESV). When the Christ was caught up to the right hand of the Father the dragon then turned his attention to the woman again (remember, the woman symbolizes God’s covenant people) his objective being to devour her. But God had a place prepared for her in the wilderness where she would be nourished by him for 1,260 days (a period of time that throughout the book of Revelation symbolizes the time of tribulation for the church stretching from Christ’s first coming to his second coming).

So what we have in Revelation 12:1-6 is the whole of the history of redemption compressed into six verses with special attention given to the battle that rages in the heavenly places between Satan and God, his people, and his Christ. Though this battle is first spiritual, it manifests itself on earth.

The rest of Revelation 12, which we will consider today, is focused upon the same cosmic conflict, but considered from different vantage points. In verses 7-11 we learn that Christ’s victory on earth produced a victory in heaven. In verse 12 we learn that Christ’s victory in heaven produced trouble for those living upon the earth. And in verses 13-17 we will learn that God will keep those servants of his who live upon the earth.

Let us consider verses 7-12 this morning and save 13-17 for next week.

Christ’s Victory On Earth Produced A Victory In Heaven

First of all, notice that Christ’s victory on earth produced a victory in heaven.

When I speak of Christ’s victory on earth I am, of course, speaking of his life and death followed by his resurrection from the dead and his ascension to his heavenly throne. We should recognize that this victory won on earth – Christ’s death and burial followed by his resurrection and ascension – produced a victory in the heavenly places.

We are accustom to thinking of all that Christ accomplished for us in his death and resurrection, but our minds typically go to those aspects of our salvation that are intensely personal.

For example, we speak often of how Christ took our sins upon himself when he died on the cross. He payed the penalty for your sins and mine, and for the sins of all who ever have or ever will believe in him. And we speak often of how Christ took upon himself God’s wrath in our place. He shielded us from it. The justice of God demands that sin be judged, but Christ took the judgement upon himself, standing in the place of all who ever have or ever will believe upon him.

Indeed it was this work – Christ’s atoning work, and his work as a substitute for sinners – that makes our salvation possible. We are justified by God through faith in Christ because Christ has paid the penalty of our sins. We are adopted as sons because Christ has removed the enmity that once existed between us and God because of our sin – you were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:3), but now you are adopted as sons (Ephesians 1:5).

This is all true1 The victory that Christ has won in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension has brought us benefits that are intensely personal. We are personally justified, adopted, and sanctified if we have faith in Christ. And there are many other personal “benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from then”, such as the “assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end” (Baptist Catechism 39). But his victory accomplished more than this.  When he was raised up from the grave (see Matthew 28), and when he ascended to his heavenly throne (see Acts 1:9-11) a victory was won in the heavenly realm with cosmic consequences.

Notice that Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension were very quickly but clearly summarized in 12:5 where we read, “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne….” (Revelation 12:5, ESV). Who is the woman? She symbolizes the people of God in general, but Mary the Mother of Jesus in particular. Who is the male child? Clearly he is Jesus the Christ, for he is the “one to rule all the nations with a rod of iron” And what does it mean that the “child was caught up to God and to his throne”? In this one little phrase we have summarized the whole process of Christ’s exultation – his resurrection and his his ascension. His humiliation is summarized in the words, “she gave birth to a male child” – The eternal Son of God took on flesh, suffered and died. But his exultation is summarized with the words, the “child was caught up to God and to his throne.” Christ died, but he rose from the grave and 40 days later he ascended and was seated at the Fathers right hand. That process of exultation is what the phrase, the “child was caught up to God and to his throne” refers to.

With that victorious event in mind we are then prepared to read on. Verse 7 picks up there and shows us the effect that Christ’s earthly victory – his humiliation followed by his exultation – had within the heavenly realm. We read,

“Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God’” (Revelation 12:7–10, ESV).

The heavenly battle described here is between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. In other words, the battle is between the elect angels with Michael leading, and the fallen angels with Satan leading.

Surely you have heard of Satan. But perhaps you have not heard of Michael. He is referred to in Daniel 10 as “one of the chief princes” of God’s angels. He is mentioned again in Daniel 12 as “the great prince who has charge of [God’s] people”. In Jude 9 he is referred to as “the archangel”. Friends, notice this. The scriptures are clear that there exists a spiritual world that corresponds to the physical one in which you and I live.

Notice that “the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Revelation 12:7–8, ESV). Satan was then “thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9, ESV). The end result was that Satan and his angels were barred from heaven.

When did this battle and the barring of Satan from heaven take place?

Some might assume that what we have here is a description of the fall of Satan and his demons which took place sometime before the fall of man. And I can understand why your mind would go in that direction. A quick read of the passage might conjure up thoughts of the original fall of Satan, but this cannot be the case, as we will see.

Others think that this battle has not happened yet, but will happen in the future immediately before the so called great tribulation. But it is an unbiblical system of doctrine and faulty methods of interpretation that produce this view, and not a careful consideration of this text.

The correct answer is that this battle and the barring of Satan from heaven took place when Christ rose from the dead, ascended to his heavenly throne, and was seated there. Christ’s victory on earth produced a victory in heaven.

Notice three things that prove that this is the proper interpretation:

First of all notice that verses 1-6 and 7-12 are tightly linked to each another. The first section concludes with the words, “her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days”, and verse 7 begins with the words “now war arose in heaven”. It is clear that the victorious event described in 12:5 – namely the “ascension of Christ to his throne” – is the event which prompted the victory over Satan in the heavenly realm, which is described in 12:7-9.

Secondly, notice that the heavenly voice of verses 10-11 specifically says that the victory won in heaven is owed to Christ’s victory on earth.  In verse 10 John says,

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:10–11, ESV).

When was salvation earned? It was earned at Christ’s first coming, through his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

And when did the kingdom of God arrive in power? It came in power at Christ’s first coming, through his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. This is why John the Baptist prepared the way for the Christ by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2, ESV). And Jesus himself also said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15, ESV).  In Matthew 12:28 Jesus explicitly said that his ability to cast out demons by the Spirit was proof that “the kingdom of God [had] come upon [them]” (Matthew 12:28, ESV).

And when was Christ given all authority? He was given all authority at his first coming through his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. You remember the great commission, don’t you? Christ commissioned his disciples, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:18–19a, ESV).

The voice that John heard in heaven connected the salvation earned by Christ, the arrival of God’s kingdom in power, and the authority given to Christ with, “the accuser” being throne down.

Thirdly, we should also pay attention to what the rest of scripture has to say about this subject.

You would do well to notice that prior to the resurrection of Christ Satan did indeed have the ability to stand before God and to accuse the people of God.

I read from Job 1 at the beginning of the sermon to demonstrate this. Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6, ESV). Where did he come from? He came “from going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it” (Job 1:7, ESV). And what did Satan do once he stood before God? He accused Job, saying, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (Job 1:9–11, ESV). Satan is the accuser of the brethren.

The same can be seen in Zechariah 3 where we read, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him” (Zechariah 3:1, ESV).

And remember how Jesus revealed to Peter that Satan was actively accusing him in the heavenly realm. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32, ESV).

So prior to Christ’s resurrection and ascension this was indeed the case. Satan did come before the Lord to accuse the people of God. He would stand before the Lord and say, “this one is unworthy. This one is unclean. This one deserves your condemnation.”

Why would Satan be able to do such a thing? It is because salvation had not yet been accomplished. From Satan’s limited perspective the people of God were being accepted as righteous before God but for no good reason. From Satan’s limited perspective these men and women were filthy and deserving of condemnation and nothing had been done to make them righteous before God.

But from God’s perspective these were clean and righteous and holy by virtue of the finished work of Christ on the cross working retroactively. It is true, the Christ had not been born, nor had lived in obedience to the law, nor had he died, nor had he risen and ascended in the days of Job and Joshua and even Peter (prior to the crucifixion). But these men, and many others, were made righteous by the blood of Christ working ahead of time as they believed upon God and promises concerning his provision of a redeemer.

From God’s perspective Joshua the high priest was clean, not because of his own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of the Christ (who would come at just the right time) imputed to him by faith. But did Satan know about the cross of Christ beforehand? Could he see into the future and know that Christ would die and rise again for the sins of his people? Could Satan understand the accomplishment of salvation before it was finished? No. He, like the elect angels, is a finite creature. He knew what God had promised to bring salvation. He could see the gospel portrayed through the types and shadows of the Old Covenant. But he could not see the work as finished as God did. 1 Peter 1:10-12 tells us that the prophets and the elect angels herd the gospel under the Old Covenant, but the exact plan for the accomplishment of our redemption remained mysterious to them, and they longed to see it. The same was true for the fallen angels. The accomplishment of redemption was a mystery to them before it was finished.

And so there Satan stood before God, accusing the people of God day and night, not understanding how it could be that a righteous and holy God could receive sinners like Job, Joshua, and Peter as holy in his sight. But then the Christ came. He lived, he died for the sins of his people, he rose, and he ascended. Now it is clear even to that finite creature, Satan, and to his fallen angels that salvation has been accomplished by Jesus the Christ, who is the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, through the sufferings of the cross, his death and resurrection. And now that he is ascended and is seated in the heavenly places with all authority in heaven and on earth being given to him, there is no longer room for Satan to accuse, for our salvation has been accomplished.

Please listen to Paul’s words in Romans 8:31-34. They are pertinent to the subject at hand. Paul asks,  “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” The implied answer is, no one, ultimately.  He continues by asking, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” The implied answer is, yes, if God has loved us to the point of sending his Son to die for us, certainly he will graciously give us all things. And then he asks, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” The world “charge” means to bring accusations against someone. “Who will dare to accuse the elect of God”.  The implied answer is, no one can bring an accusation against God’s elect.  And why is that, Paul? He says, “For is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?” And then Paul presents the basis for it all, saying, “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:31–34, ESV).

So why is it, brothers and sisters, that we are able to speak in such a bold way as Christians, asking, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And “who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?”  And “who is to condemn?” It is because, “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:31–34, ESV).

His victory accomplished on earth has produced in heaven so that we might say with confidence, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37–39, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, when Christ died, rose, ascended, and was seated in power he did more than pay for your sins. He also won a cosmic victory in the spiritual realm so that Satan and his angels were “defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.”

Christ’s Victory In Heaven Produced Trouble For Those Living UpOn The Earth

Secondly, and very briefly, notice that Christ’s victory in heaven produced trouble for those living upon the earth.

Satan was barred from heaven. Over this fact the angels in heaven rejoiced. But being banished from heaven where is now confined to roam? Verse 9 says, “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9, ESV). In verse 12 the heavenly voice says, “Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Revelation 12:12, ESV).

In the days of Job Satan roamed the earth but also had access to God so that he might accuse. No that the Christ has accomplished salvation Satan is confined to roam the earth and it barred from heaven.

And now he is particularly furious. Why? “Because he knows that his time is short”. His days are numbered. The victory has been won by Christ. Satan has been mortally wounded. He has taken that great and decisive blow to the head of which God spoke shorty after the fall. So what can he do except continue to bite at the heal of the women on to the very end.

It is true, the Bible teaches that because of the victory won by Christ Satan has been barred from heaven. No longer does he have access to God to accuse the elect before him. And it is true, the Bible teaches that because of the victory won by Christ Satan is now bound. He is bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations (Revelation 20). He is bound so that he his house (the world) might be plundered by Christ. (Matthew 12:29). He is, in other words, bound so that the great commission of Matthew 28:18-20 will be accomplished. But it would be foolish to live as if Satan is no more. No, having been barred from heaven, he is now confined to the earth where he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV). And how does he devour? The rest of Revelation will make it clear that he devours through the threat of persecution, false teaching, and the seductiveness of the world.

“Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”” (Revelation 12:12, ESV)

Application 

Let us take a moment to apply this text before we conclude so that we “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving [ourselves]” (James 1:22, ESV).

Of course this text can be applied in many ways, but I have three suggestions for application.

One, I do wish to encourage us to cultivate thankful hearts concerning all of the benefits that we have in Christ Jesus. We are very rich in Christ Jesus, friends.

Our Savior has won for us the cosmic battle. He has triumphed over all his and all our enemies. God has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Christ] (Colossians 2:15, ESV).

And our Savior has taken our sin away.  He has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14, ESV).

And our Savior has given us new life. “[We], who were dead in [our] trespasses and the uncircumcision of [our] flesh, God made alive together with [Christ]” (Colossians 2:13, ESV).

We are rich in Christ. We have been justified by him. We have been adopted as Sons. We are being sanctified day by day.  We ought to be very thankful, friends. And our thankfulness should be constant, for these things do not fade.

I could add to this the mention of all the temporal blessings we enjoy in this world. We have food to eat, water to drink, cloths to wear, and shelter. Indeed, by the grace of God, we have these things regularly and in abundance.  And indeed, by the grace of God, we have much more than this. We have friends and family. We have one another in Christ Jesus. We should be very thankful in this life.   Indeed, “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6, ESV). And yet so often we are found moping around like ungrateful children. How wrong we are to sin against God in this way. How right it is to wake in the morning with thankful hearts, to eat and drink with thankful hearts, and go to sleep with thankfulness in our hearts.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4–7, ESV).

We should think more deeply about all that we have in Christ Jesus and we should give God thanks always for things big and small.

Two, I must warn you again to “be sober-minded” and “watchful”concerning “your adversary the devil” who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:7–8, ESV). This point will be made again and again as we progress through the pages of Revelation but with ever greater detail and precision. We will be reminded that Satan has been thrown down to the earth and that he has come down “in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” But will also be reminded that he is cunning in his ways. He is indeed fierce like a lion, but he also deceptive like a serpent.

I was in the backyard with David a few weeks ago doing some yard work when out of the corner of my eye I see a large rattle snake slithering along. As I walked towards it moved up into our large and overgrown tomato plant and I quickly lost sight of it. I’m sure he moved on but I didn’t pick tomatoes for a few days. Serpents are very sly. They come and go quietly. They hide. The catch their pray by taking them by surprise.

Our spiritual foe fights against us in this way. He strikes when we least expect it. He hides behind the powers of this world, false teachings that at first tickle the ears, and seductiveness of this world.  Be sober-minded and watchful concerning him.

Lastly, I cannot close without urging you to trust in Jesus. Indeed, he is our champion. He is our king who has defeated all that threatens us. He has paid for our sins, he has defeated all of his and our enemies, and he has done so in such decisive manner that there no longer remains a place for Satan in heaven to accuse us. Believe upon Christ. And once you have believed upon him, cling to him, for he is our rock and our salvation.

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’ To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’ And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—‘ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 12:1-6

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:1–6, ESV).

Introduction

If we were to step back from the book of Revelation for a moment to ponder all that it has revealed to us so far, here is one question we might ask: why is the world as it is?

Why are there two kingdoms in the world today, one that belongs to God, wherein he is worshipped and served by his people as Lord, while those in the other remain diametrically opposed to his rule? Why is the world this way?

And why does there exist such hostility between these two kingdoms? The church of God, as we have seen, is under continual assault as she sojourns in this world. The assault that comes against her is far from monotone. No, the church is besieged in a diversity of ways. Her members are often tempted by the world. False teaching is also a threat. And persecution threatens the church too.

But why is the world this way? Why the conflict? Why the suffering? Why the persecution? Why the evil, and thus the judgments of God poured out? Indeed, this is the picture that the book of Revelation has painted for us so far. We can see it with our eyes as we observe the world today, and Revelation has revealed it authoritatively – the world is not well. The world is not right with God. Indeed, God has his people in the world. They are known by him. They are spiritually protected and preserved. But they will be trampled by the nations, being given over to trials, tribulations, suffering and even death for a time. Why is the world this way?

We have come now to the heart of the book of Revelation. In chapter twelve verse one we find the major transition. The book up to this point has mainly described to us how things will be in heaven and on earth in the time between Christ’s first and second comings. God and his Christ are enthroned in heaven, but on earth God’s people will live in the midst of crocked and rebellious people where they will have tribulation. But God is not blind to it. He knows who belongs to him. They are numbered for battle and sealed as his possession. And he also knows the wicked and their deeds. He is able to judge the wicked even now, pouring out partial and perpetual judgments with precision, and he will judge fully and finally in the end.

Friends, in this age there will trials and tribulations, “wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:9–14, ESV). This is what the book of Revelation has portrayed for us so far.

But now the book will provide a more piercing answer to the question, why? Why is the world as it is? The book of Revelation will now answer that question by revealing that behind it all – behind all that has been revealed so far, and behind all that we perceive with our natural senses – rages an ancient spiritual battle that is invisible to your eyes and mine. We see the effects of it in this world! But the battle is first of all spiritual and invisible to us. Revelation is going to reveal something of this ancient cosmic conflict so that we might see it with eye of faith.

At this point I think it would be beneficial for you to know something of the basic structure of Revelation chapters twelve through twenty. Four figures will be introduced to us in these chapters. These four represent powers that oppose God and his people. And then these same four will be defeated by God and his Christ and judged in the reverse order that they were introduced. These chapters, therefore, reveal to us something of the spiritual battle that rages beyond our sense perception.

Notice that here in chapter twelve Satan himself is introduced. In 12:3 he is described as a “great red dragon”. In 12:9 he is identified by name: “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9, ESV).

Notice that in chapter thirteen two of the powers that Satan uses to wage war against God and his people are introduced. First there is the beast that rises out of the sea (13:1). This beast, we will see, represents persecuting powers. Secondly, the beast that rises out of the earth is introduced (13:11). This beast will later be called the false prophet (16:3; 19:20). And then in chapter seventeen the great prostitute or harlot is introduced (17:1). She will represent the seductiveness of the world.

So by the time we come to the end of chapter 17 four key players in this ancient and cosmic battle will have been introduced to us. Satan is the person behind all of the opposition towards the kingdom of God and of Christ, but he uses these three powers primarily in his fight, the persecuting beast, the false prophet, and the harlot. These wage war against all that belongs to God and to his Christ.

But notice that beginning with chapter 18 each of these are defeated by God and judged in the reverse order that they were introduced. In chapter 18 the harlot is judged. In 19:19-20 the false prophet and the persecuting beast are judged. And in 20:7-10 we find a description of the defeat and judgment of Satan.

So chapters 12 through 20 have a chiastic structure. If you were to diagram this section of the book of Revelation is would form an “X”. Satan, the persecuting beast, the false prophet, and the harlot are introduced – 1, 2, 3, 4 – and then they are in reverse order quickly removed, being defeated by Christ at his second coming – 4, 3, 2, 1.

What is the point of it all? Revelation chapters 12 through 20 peal back the curtain a bit more to reveal something of the ancient and spiritual battle that rages beyond our sense perception which produces the hostility to God’s rule that we observe in the world today.

Friends, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12–13, ESV).

All of chapter 12 goes together. It is divided nicely into there parts – verses 1-6, 7-12, and 13-17. We will consider only verses 1-6 today given our time constraints. And as we consider verses 1-6 three things need to be recognized concerning this ancient and invisible battle. One, notice that in this cosmic conflict Satan is identified as the primary opponent of God. Two, notice that Satan is also identified as the primary opponent of God’s people. And three, notice that Satan is identified as the primary opponent of God’s Messiah.

Satan Is The Primary Opponent of God

Let us first consider that in this cosmic conflict Satan is the primary opponent of God.

He is explicitly mentioned for the time in Revelation 12:3 where we read, “And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems” (Revelation 12:3, ESV).

We are not left to wonder who this image represents for in 12:9 we are told that this great dragon is “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…” (Revelation 12:9, ESV).

Notice that “his tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth” (Revelation 12:4, ESV). Here is symbolize the fall, not only of Satan, but of other angels too. It is likely that included in this reference to the fall of angels is also a reference to the effect that these fallen angels have had upon the people of the earth (heaven and earth correspond to one another in Revelation. The churches have angelic representation, remember. So too, fallen angels correspond to fallen sinful world powers.)

In 12:3 the dragon is described as having “seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems”. Quoting from Dennis Johnson’s commentary on Revelation, “The dragon… is shown in symbols signaling his cunning wisdom (seven heads), great power (ten horns), and authority to influence others (seven diadems)” (Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 181).

All of the symbolism is, of course, drawn from the Old Testament. What I have come to love about the symbolism of the book of Revelation is that the symbols are complex. They are a composite of variety of symbols found within the Old Testament. It is not as if we can point to one passage, or to one image in the Old Testament and say, look! John has taken this straight from there! Instead, it’s as if the Lord has passed through through the entire Old Testament, picking up this symbol and that along the way, and then having joined them together into one image, has shown them to John, who has in turn given them to us. G.K. Beale refers to this sign of the dragon as a “mosaic of OT imagery”.

When the dragon is described to us here in 12:3 if should remind us of the serpent of Genesis 3. It should also cause us to remember the Old Testaments repeated reference to God’s defeat of an evil sea monster which symbolized the evil kingdoms who oppressed Old Covenant Israel (see Psalm 74:13-14, Job 26:12-13, Psalm 89:10, and Ezekiel 29:3, for example). The imagery of ten horns is drawn from the description of the fourth beast of Daniel 7.

What we have, then, is a symbolic description of Satan. He does not really look like this. You do understand that, I hope. We are studying a book that communicates truth via symbol. Satan is, in fact, a fallen angel. He is a spiritual being. But he is described to us in this symbolic way so that we might know something of his character. He is that ancient serpent who opposed God in the beginning (Genesis 3). He is ferocious. He is bloodthirsty (think of the color red especially in connection with Revelation 17:3-6 where the harlot is described as riding upon “a scarlet beast”, “drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6, ESV). He is cunning, having seven heads. He is powerful, having ten horns, and has authority upon the earth, wearing ten diadems, or crowns.

The simple truth to observe is that Satan is here set forth as the primary opponent of God in this cosmic battle.

You would also do well to notice that when the other three characters are introduced in chapters 13 and 17 – the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot – they are described in such a way so as to make it clear that they are motived and empowered by this dragon and that they serve him. Notice that the beast that raises from the sea in 13:1, also has “ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns” (Revelation 13:1, ESV). He shares this in common with the dragon. And notice that the beast (who is later called the false prophet) that rises from the earth in 13:11 is said to “speak like a dragon”. And as for the harlot of chapter 17, she serves the dragon through her connection with beast the beast of 13:1, with “ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns”, that has already been mentioned.

The point is this: Satan is the primary opponent of God in this cosmic battle. He wages war against God’s kingdom using the powers of persecution, false teaching, and seduction, but he is the source of all opposition.

As I was considering these things an image came to mind of allied soldiers fighting a battle somewhere in Europe during WWII. What did they see with their eyes except German soldiers with machine guns and tanks and such. But what did they imagine in their minds except Hitler and his officers hidden away somewhere in Germany. Those allied soldiers were well aware of the fact that there was more to the battle that they were currently fighting than what they could see with their eyes. There was a person and a power that stood behind it all, motivating the conflict. Though they could not see him, they knew he was there, for they could see the effects of his power before their very eyes.

Revelation reveals even more to us. It reveals that standing behind the earthy powers and the earthly conflicts, there are spiritual powers there is a spiritual battle that rages. Satan is the primary opponent of God in this cosmic conflict.

Before we move on I would like to read for you the description of Satan’s demise from Revelation 20:10. And I would like for you to notice the brevity, terseness, and simplicity of the description. In Revelation 20:10 the final judgment of Satan is described and here is what we read: “and the devil who had deceived them [the wicked] was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10, ESV).

Notice how brief the description of Satan’s destruction is especially when compared to the extensive, vivid, and, quite frankly, terrifying description of the dragon and his servants found in Revelation chapters 12 through 17. It’s almost as if the book of Revelation builds things up leading the reader to expect that God will have a great and difficult battle to win at the end of time if this mighty dragon will ever be overcome, but then when we come to the end we find that God snaps his fingers, if you will, and it is over. Christ speaks a word, and it is finished.

In this cosmic conflict Satan is the primary opponent of God, but before God Almighty he is nothing. He will be destroyed in an instant.

Satan Is The Primary Opponent Of God’s People

Secondly, notice that in this cosmic conflict Satan is the primary opponent of God’s people. If Satan is opposed to God, then it is no wonder that he is also opposed to all who have God as Lord and King.

In verse 1 we read, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth” (Revelation 12:1–2, ESV). Look now at the second part of verse 4 where we read, “And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:4–6, ESV).

Who does this woman symbolize?

The Roman Catholics tend to say that this woman symbolizes Mary the mother of Jesus only. The Dispensationalists will usually say that the woman symbolizes ethnic Israel who will be particularly persecuted for three and a half years during a great tribulation yet in our future. Both of these interpretations are too narrow. The second, I would argue, is just plain wrong, being based upon faulty presuppositions and a flawed method of interpretation.

It is far better to see that this woman symbolizes God’s people – the elect of God under both the Old Covenant and the New. The Roman Catholics are actually not wrong to say that Mary the mother of Jesus is symbolized here. But they are wrong to think that the symbolism points only to her. Something more profound is being communicated here – something broader Mary as an individual, though clearly she is in view.

I read from Genesis 3 at the introduction to this sermon mainly to orient your minds to the promise delivered to Adam and Eve shortly after the fall by way of the curse pronounced upon the serpent who deceived them.

God spoke to the serpent saying, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV). And do not forget the curse announced to the woman: “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16, ESV).

It is here in Genesis 3:15 that the gospel is first announced. Man had fallen. Man was now alienated from God, being now at enmity with him. But God, in his grace, would provide a Savior who would stomp the head of the deceiver and thus bring salvation to man. Who is this Savior? Who is this Redeemer? Who is the one who has defeated the serpent and will destroy him fully and finally in the end? It is Jesus the Christ! And would he come to save us according to Genesis 3:15? Through the woman, Eve. He would be one of her offspring.

Remember, the dragon heard this, for the gospel was announced to him and in the hearing of Adam and Eve! And what do the scriptures describe to us from that point forward except the story of the hostility between the offspring of the woman and the offspring of the serpent.

It becomes exceeding clear, by the way, that this story was not about the hostility that exists between human beings and snakes. Instead, the story is about the hostility that exists between God and Satan, the people who belong to God and the people who belong to the Devil, the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom go the World. The whole of the bible describes this conflict that exists, first of all, in the spiritual realm, but manifests itself, secondarily, in the physical and earthy realm.

The dragon, from the beginning, has been opposed to God’s people. That fact is illustrated in Genesis 4, when wicked Cain raises up and kills righteous Able. Both were the offspring of Eve according to the flesh. But spiritually, Able was of Eve and of God, and Cain was the offspring of the serpent. So do you see that from the beginning the dragon has been opposed to the people of God? His objective from the beginning has been snuff them out. He is opposed is to God primarily, but he is also against all who belong to God. Think of the lives Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, the prophets and all of the elect remnant within ethnic Israel. Think of the opposition they faced in the world!

The woman of Revelation 12 symbolizes more than just Mary the mother of Jesus. She also symbolizes mother Israel – the elect of God under the Old Covenant. She is described as being “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1, ESV).

You should read Genesis 37 sometime. There you will find a description of Joseph’s dream where his father Jacob is symbolized by the sun, his mother Rachael by the moon, and his eleven brothers as eleven stars, Joseph himself being implied as the twelfth. The sun, moon and twelve stars symbolizes Israel. Also, you should read Isaiah 54 sometime. There Israel is described as a barren women but God promises her that she will have children.

This woman in Revelation 12 clearly symbolizes Mary the mother of Jesus for she would be the highly favored individual who would have the privilege of giving birth to the Savior promised to Adam and Eve long ago, but the people of God prior to the birth of Christ are also symbolized here. Indeed, their whole history can rightly be described as a time of “crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth”, as they awaited the arrival of the Messiah who was to come from them.

Notice also that the New Covenant people of God are also represented by this woman. In 12:17 her offspring are said to be, “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17, ESV).

The woman symbolizes the people of God in every age. The dragon is opposed to her and seeks to devour her. This true, not only before she gives birth to her child, but also afterwards. After she gives birth the dragon pursues her into the wilderness “where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:6, ESV). In 12:14 we read, “But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14, ESV). What does this period of three and a half years represent? It stand for the time in-between the first and second coming of Christ; an aged marked by tribulation for the people of God, in fulfillment to the prophesy of Daniel 7.

In this cosmic conflict Satan is the primary opponent of God’s people. But do you see that the emphasis of the text is, and will continue to be, upon God’s provision and protection. The woman “has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days”. The text reveals something of the cosmic conflict, but it is also reveals that is able to keep his people. This is the truth that must not be overlooked.

Satan Is The Primary Opponent Of God’s Messiah

Lastly, and very briefly, notice that in this cosmic conflict Satan is the primary opponent of God’s Messiah.

Who is the dragon most concerned with in this passage? His objective is to devour the child of the woman.

Who is this child? Cleary he is Jesus the Christ. He is the one born to the virgin Mary. Go back and read Matthew 1 and be reminded of his birth. He was of the seed of Abraham and David. And then read Matthew 2 and be reminded of how the dragon sought to destroy the Christ child from the moment of his birth, through that beast named Herod. Then read Matthew 4 and be reminded of how the dragon sough to derail the Christ from his mission as he tempted him, where? In the wilderness. It was in the wilderness that God sustained him, for “it is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’”(Matthew 4:4, ESV). And then continue on reading of all the hostility endured by the Christ in his life by those whom he at on point called, children of the devil (John 8:44). Soon you will come to the account of Jesus’ crucifixion. Surly the dragon thought that had finally succeeded. The Christ was born from Israel in general, and from Mary in particular, and he had finally gobbled him up. He breathed his last and he was put into the grave. Certainly Satan rejoiced! But then he rose again and ascended to God’s right hand.

To use the language of Revelation 12:5, “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne” (Revelation 12:5, ESV).

Now the serpent knows he has been defeated. He could not stop God’s Messiah from delivering that fatal blow to his head. And now, having been mortally wounded, the Christ child having been caught up to heaven where he rules and reigns in victory, what is left for the dragon to do except to pursue the woman and her offspring in the wilderness for these “three and a half years” of tribulation. But just as God was able to keep the Christ child, so too will he keep his people. They will be nourished for these 1,260 days.

Application

I have one point of application that I would like to emphasize with you before we close.

If as you read Revelation and the description of the dragon, the two beasts and the harlot you come away thinking, the world is such a scary and dangerous place, I must run and hide, then I’m afraid you have missed the point of the book entirely.

The book is honest. It tells how things really are. Indeed, the battle is real. The opponents of God and his people are powerful and fierce. But the book is given to produce confidence and boldness in the people of God. Confidence, not in ourselves, but in Christ who has won the victory, and in our God who is willing and able to nourish us as we wonder in this wildness place.

If you are arrogant, thinking yourself to be self-sufficient in this wold, my prayer is that you would sober up and come to realize that “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV). May you sober up concerning the treat and run to Christ, the shepherd of the sheep, for shelter.

But if you are a timid Christian I would urge you to remember who you are in Christ Jesus.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37–39, ESV).

Bothers and sisters, let us not live timid, isolated, and fearful lives in this world. Let us not be like the those timid and faithless spies of Israel who returned back from spying out the land that God had promised to them, saying, the people there are too large and too strong. Let us not go up (Numbers 13:25ff.) But let us have the boldness and the faith of Caleb and Joshua instead who said, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:7–8, ESV). Let us sojourn in this wilderness with the faith and the boldness of Caleb and Joshua. Let us run to engage in the battle, and not flee from it in fear.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore [do not run in fear, but] take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:10–13, ESV).

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 2 

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:15-19

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.’ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:15–19, ESV).

Introduction

I wrote a little poem to summarize this passage. It goes like this:

The book of Revelation has done it again.
It has taken us to the time of the end.

When the first six trumpets did resound,
they revealed how things would be in the hear and the now.

But when the seventh trumpet by us was heard,
it showed how things will be after Christ’s return.

And what a marvelous sight to behold!
All things belong to Christ, his people are safely home!

While the angels and saints rejoice on that day,
the wicked do wish they could run away.

For it is then the wrath of the Lamb will come.
The nations raged! But now is the time for the dead to be judged.

Then the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ.
No more sin, nor suffering, even death will be silenced!

Oh Christian, take comfort in these God inspired words.
May they move you to have Christ as Lord, today, and until he returns.

As I began to prepare for this sermon it dawned on me that you might have forgotten that we were still in the trumpet cycle.

Thumb back to Revelation 8:6. It is here that the trumpet cycle begins. We read, “Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them” (Revelation 8:6, ESV). The first trumpet was blown in 8:7; the second in 8:8; the third in 8:10; an the fourth in 8:12. And then in 8:13 we read these words: “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” (Revelation 8:13, ESV). Here we were warned that the remaining three trumpets – trumpets five, six, and seven, would be particularly significant and filled with “woe”, or sorrow, for the earth dweller, which is one of the ways that the book of Revelation refers to those not in Christ. It was in 9:1 that the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and it was in 9:13 that the sixth angel blew his. With each of these trumpet blasts something was revealed to us concerning the judgments of God that would be poured out upon the ungodly throughout the church age.

Then we came to the interlude of chapters 10 and 11. Five sermons were devoted to these two chapters. Also, there were three other sermons delivered by other preachers in that time. So about two months have passed since you have heard anything about the trumpet cycle.

Remember that the interlude, particularly chapter 11, gave attention to the question, how will it be for the people of God as they live upon the earth in the midst of a wicked world upon which the judgments of God are being poured out? And the answer given was that though the people of God be trampled under foot, God will ultimately protect, preserve, and vindicate his faithful witnesses.

And remember that near to the end of chapter 11 we were given a glimpse of the beginning of the end when Christ returns to rescue his intensely persecuted bride and to judge the wicked. 11:12:  “Then they [the two witnesses] heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:12–13, ESV). Here we have a description of something that will happen when the Lord returns: his bride will be rescued through rapture, and those found assaulting his bride will take it in the teeth.

Friends, notice that with the sounding of the seventh trumpet here in verse 15 the scene shifts geographically from earth to heaven, and also temporally from the moment of Christ’s returns to a description of the state of affairs brought about by his return.

The relationship between 11:12-13 and 11:15-19 can be compared to the relationship between the story of the allied troops storming the beaches at Normandy and the account of their taking Normandy. Really it is one event accomplished in two stages. So it will be with the return of Christ. It will be one event with many stages. 11:12-13 describes Christ’s return to rescue his severely persecuted church on earth. 11:15-19 describes the occupation of the kingdom of Christ.

The important thing to notice is that the seventh trumpet takes us to other side of Christ’s return and to a time beyond the age in which we now live. Notice five things that will happen on that day the day.

The Kingdom Of The World Will Become The Kingdom Of Christ

One, notice that it is on that day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of Christ.

Look at verse 15. When the seventh angel blew his trumpet “there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘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).

Something very significant will happen on that day. The kingdom of this world  – those kingdoms which oppose the rule of Christ and seek to establish their own rule independent of him – will be no more. Only the kingdom of our Lord and of Christ will remain. Everything will belong to him. Everyone will worship and serve him. On that day he will begin to rule without challenge or rival.

Now it is true that our Lord reigns supreme even now. He is sovereign over all things. He is Lord Most High. No one and no thing is able to thwart his purposes. But according to his infinite wisdom he has decreed that for a time there exist a kingdom that is rival to his – a kingdom of darkness – a kingdom, not of heaven, but of the earth. This he has permitted according to his wisdom in order to bring about his ultimate purposes.

Also, it is also true that the kingdom of heaven has already broken in upon us. It arrived with Spirit wrought power at the first coming of Christ. “Behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”, was the proclamation of John the Baptist and of Christ himself. Indeed, when Christ rose from the dead he rose in power and ascended to the right hand of the Father where he rules and reigns over his kingdom even now with all authority having been given unto him.

And so the current situation is this: The kingdom of Christ has begun. It has broken in upon us. It has intruded into human history. We feel power of it. Indeed, we are in it, if we are in Christ by the Spirit, confessing him as Lord. But we know that the kingdom is not here in its full and consummate glory. Why? Because there still exists a rival kingdom in the world today! Many stubbornly refuse to bow the knee to Christ. Many do not confess him as Lord. Many are the citizens of the kingdom of this world who oppose Christ’s rule, submitting instead to the rule of another king. So as you can see there are two kingdoms present in the world today. There is the kingdom of the world, which is the kingdom of darkness, who has the evil one for a king. And there is the kingdom of heaven, also called the kingdom of God and of his Christ. These two are opposed to one another. All who live upon the earth are in fact in one kingdom or another. Either Christ is your king, or the evil one is. Christ said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30, ESV). And listen to the way that Paul describes our salvation in Colossians 1:13. He describes it as having been “delivered… from the domain of darkness and transferred… to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13, ESV). This is, in part, what it means to be saved. It is to be delivered from one domain, or kingdom, to another – from the domain of darkness to the domain of Christ. Those who do not have Jesus as Lord believe themselves to be free – independent from any outside rule. They are badly mistaken. For the scriptures teach that you are either a bondservant of Christ or that you are in bondage to another. Satan is cruel taskmaster, my friends. He is liar and a deceiver. His end is death and destruction. He is bent on taking as many with him as possible.

But here is the thing to recognize. There are two kingdoms present in the world today. The kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of darkness. Christ’s kingdom is here. It is present wherever the church is. It is present wherever men and woman are found who have Christ as Lord. But it is not here in its full and final form. This is why as citizens of this inaugurated kingdom we are taught to pray for its consummation, saying, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10, ESV).

Hebrews 10:12-13 sums it up: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet” (Hebrews 10:12–13, ESV). This one verse says it all. Christ began to reign over his kingdom upon his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God. But while he rules there he is also waiting there. Waiting until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.

This is the thing that Revelation 11:15 describes. It is describes the day when the enemies of Christ will be made a footstool for his feet. On that day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. All will be Christ’s kingdom. No rival power will remain. This is why

Notice that this is not the half-baked earthly, and sin prone millennial kingdom of the dispensational pre-millennialists, but it is the full and final kingdom of our Lord. Our God and his Christ are Lord over all in this kingdom, and the text says that “he shall reign [in this kingdom] forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, ESV).  It is a myth that Christ will in the future establish some new, earthly, and sin prone kingdom that will come to end after 1,000 years being brought to and end by a great rebellion (second fall, I guess). That view is unbiblical and it come from a misreading of the scriptures. In particular it arises when men assume that the book of Revelation is mainly about our future, that it is to be interpreted literally whenever possible (whenever the want), and that the order of the book of Revelation corresponds to the order of events in human history. I’ve shown that all three of these assumptions are false in past sermons. Know that it is this flawed method of interpretation that produces pre-millennialism.

The coming of the Christ was promised in the Old Covenant. He was born when the fullness of time had come. He lived, died, and was buried, and on the third day he rose from the grave, the New Covenant being ratified in his blood. He ascended to the right hand of God where he rules and reigns, all authority having been given unto him in heaven and on earth. We his people in this world, members of the New Covenant, citizens of his kingdom, enduring difficulty, and awaiting his return. When he returns everything will be his kingdom forever and ever. It is the final state.

Revelation 11:15 describes the beginning of Christ’s eternal kingdom. This is a description of the new heavens and the new earth where all is placed fully under the authority of Christ, with no rival, for on that day his enemies will be fully and finally judged .

The praise that is heard from the lips of the angels confirms it. Verse 16: “And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign” (Revelation 11:16–17, ESV). On that day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.

The Dead Will Be Judged

Two, notice that it is on that day that the dead will be judged.

Look at verse 18: “The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged…” (Revelation 11:18a, ESV).

Surely the phrase “the nations raged” is meant to remind us of Psalm 2. The prophesies of Psalm 2 will be filled most fully when on the day when Christ returns.

Indeed in this present evil age “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:2–3, ESV). And even now “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (Psalm 2:4, ESV). And indeed the Lord has already “set [his] King on Zion, [his] holy hill” (Psalm 2:6, ESV). This has happened in the heavenly places (read Revelation and Hebrews). But Revelation 11:15ff. is showing us something of the day on which “the nations [will become the]… heritage [of the Christ], and the ends of the earth [his] possession. [He] shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Psalm 2:7–9, ESV). Therefore, the peoples of the earth are appropriately warned concerning that day. The Psalm says,  “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 2:10–12, ESV).

Psalm 2 warns of the final judgment and urges men and women to live accordingly, taking refuge in Christ. When John in Revelation 11:18, says, “the nations raged”, he is summoning Psalm 2, as if to say, these two texts are talking about the same event, they are both about the final judgment.

In Revelation 11 the final judgment is mentioned only briefly. In Revelation 20:11-13 we find a more detailed description of the final judgment. John writes,

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:11–13, ESV).

What Revelation 20:11-13 describes in some detail, Revelation 11:18 mentions only in passing.

For now simply notice that the beginning of Christ’s consummate reign and the day of judgment coincide. It will be on that day, when the Lord returns and begins to reign, that the dead will be judged according to what they had done.

Those Who Belong To Christ Will Be Rewarded

Three, notice it is on that day that those who belong to Christ will be rewarded.

Verse 18:“The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great…” (Revelation 11:18, ESV).

Did you know that Christians will be judged too?

They will not be judged in the same way that those not in Christ are judged. They will not stand before the great white throne of Revelation 20 to be judged according to what they had done. That judgment can only lead to damnation, for who could possibly stand though that judgment. No, the one trusting in Christ has their sins covered by Christ’s blood. He paid for their sins, and he has given them his righteousness. You, if you are trusting in Christ, will not be amongst the dead who are raised to stand before the great white throne to be judged there for you will already be alive in Christ. Your name is in the book of life!

Indeed, we should be comforted by the fact that we will not have to stand before the great white throne to judged unto damnation. Indeed we should rejoice that we will not be judged concerning whether we will go to eternal life or eternal death based upon what we have done in this life – none will stand! But I do believe that we should talk more about the judgment of Christians unto rewards. For it is a kind of judgment, isn’t it? For how can you possibly reward someone without making a judgment concerning their work?

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that we will in any way contribute to our salvation. I am not saying that our obedience in this life will have anything to do with our eternal destiny. All of that comes down to the question, are you trusting in yourself or in Christ, in his righteousness, or your own?

But I am desiring to make this point: Christians will give an account. We will stand before God our Father and give an account for the deeds done in the flesh. This will be a Fatherly judgment, not unto condemnation (for there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1), but a judgment unto rewards, or the lack therefore.

This seems to be what Paul had in mind when he wrote these words to Corinthians:

“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:10–15, ESV).

Friends, do not be one of these. Do not be the Christian who, though his faith be sincere and saving faith, his life be devoted to kings of little eternal value. Brothers and sisters, “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19–20, ESV).

The Destroyers Of The Earth Will Be Destroyed

Four, notice that it is on that day that destroyers of the earth will be destroyed.

Look at the last line part of verse 18: “…and for destroying the destroyers of the earth” (Revelation 11:18, ESV).

Who are the “destroyers of the earth”? When we take into consideration the way that this phrase is used in the prophets, especially in Jeremiah and Daniel, and when we take into consideration what is depicted in the rest of the book of Revelation, we must come to the conclusion that the “destroyers of the earth” are the dragon, the beast, the false prophet and the harlot along with all of the men and women who follow them and do their bidding, but particularly the wicked kingdoms of this world. On that day God will destroy the destroyers. God’s wrath we be poured out upon those who lead astray the people and now are destroyed themselves.

The People Of God Will Enjoy The Fulness Of His Presence Forevermore 

Five, notice that it is on that day that the people of God will enjoy the fulness of his presence forevermore.

Look at verse 19: “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:19, ESV).

The temple symbolizes God’s presence with his people. The ark of the covenant also symbolizes God’s presence with his people, particularly his covenantal faithfulness. This vision concludes with John seeing the temple opened before him and the ark of the covenant revealed. The meaning is clear. God is with his people now, and his presence will be enjoyed in a most immediate way on that last day.

Notice that John also saw “flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:19, ESV). This scene appears repeatedly in the book of Revelation whenever the final judgment is in view. God will be comfort his people with his presence on that day, but he will judge his enemies.

Remember the Jericho story that stands behind the image of the seven trumpets? For seven days the people of Israel were to march around Jericho and seven priests were to blow seven trumpets and the walls of the city would fall flat and the city conquered. Here I simply wish to remind you of the central place the ark of the covenant played in that event. It was forever in the midst of God’s people – a comfort to them as a symbol of his presence and covenantal faithfulness, and a threat to the enemies of God.

Application

Let us take some time to apply these truths before we conclude.

The first point application is theological. I wonder if your eschatology is biblically sound. Does your view of the end square with what this passage teaches? I’m afraid that many in our day hold to a view that cannot square with it. Theirs are the infinitely complex charts that insert gaps of time in between the many things that are to happen on that last day. The scriptures teach that the last day will be a full day. On that day the Lord will return to raise the dead in Christ and to rescue through rapture those who are alive on earth enduring persecution. On that day the Lord will pour out his wrath upon the persecutors living upon the earth. On that day the dead will be raised and judged, and those in Christ will be rewarded. On that day the destroyers of the earth will be destroyed, On that day the kingdom of the earth will become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. On tat day all will be come temple. The last day will be a full day. The pre-tribulational pre-millennialists are wrong to take these individual events and to spread them out over 1,007 years. Theirs is an umbilical system thrust upon the text of scripture, and often found crammed into the gaps. I’m urging you to abandon it if you have not already and to adopt instead the Amillennial position which I am in the process of the describing to you.

Secondly, in light of the final judgment I ask, have you taken refuge in Christ? On that last day you will stand clothed either in your own garb, or in the garb of Christ. Your garb and mine is filthy and sin stained. Christ’s garb is radiant white. Be clothed in his righteousness, friends. Repent and believe upon him. Confess him as Lord. Be washed by his blood.

Thirdly, I wonder if all of this teaching concerning the time of the end is having an effect upon the kind of person you are. The Apostle Peter had some things to say about the time of the end, and Peter also expected his teaching to have an effect upon his audience. He said, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:3-14

“‘And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come” (Revelation 11:3–14, ESV).

Introduction

I should remind you that there are three truths that need to be drawn from the text that we are considering today. I will again state all three, just as I did last Sunday,  but then we will return to consider points two and three in detail. Points one was considered thoroughly last Sunday in part one of this sermon.

The first point was this: we must recognize that the job of the church, as we live in this present evil age, is to witness. We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, his life, death and resurrection.We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning the good news that in Christ, through faith in him, there is the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. And we are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, that he will indeed return, this time not to accomplish salvation, but to rescue those who belong to him and to judge those who do not from amongst the living and the dead. The job of the church is to witness.

The second point is this: the church ought to expect unrelenting, and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world. The world – those not given to the Son by the Father – will hate the testimony that they hear from the Christian witnesses. It will be an irritant to them, and they will respond with varying degrees of hostility. That is, unless the Holy Spirit is at work within them, drawing them to repentance. The church ought to expect opposition as she testifies concerning Christ.

Thirdly, recognize that though the church on earth be trampled even to the point of death, she will in the end be preserved, rescued, and vindicated, and the wicked judged.

Notice that these three points can be made only if we understand the “two witness” of verse three, who are called the “two olive trees” and the “two lampstands” in verse 4, to symbolize the church as she fulfills her mission to testify concerning Christ in the world. To make the three points that I have made the witnesses must be understood as symbolizing the church.

Last Sunday I tried to convince you that this is the proper interpretation. I tried to demonstrate that the pre-millennial, pre-tribulational interpretation – the one that so many of us grew up with – the one that says this text will be fulfilled only when two literal individual witness appear sometime in our future – is incorrect. And I also labored to demonstrate that understanding the two witness as symbolic of the church witnessing throughout the church age is perfectly in step with the rest of the book of Revelation, the clear teaching of the New Testament, and also the Old.

I am convinced that the two witnesses of verse 3 symbolize Christ’s church as she is faithful to witness, and I hope that I succeeded in convincing you. Honestly, if I did not succeed – if you still hold to that pre-millennial, pre-tribulational, dispensational interpretation – the three points that I have made will seem quite out of place and rather inappropriate to you. You might agree, that these three statements, when considered by themselves, are true statements. But you would not link these propositions up with this text. Instead you would have three different points to draw out of this text. They would go something like this: One, In the future two witnesses will appear. Two, in the future those two witnesses will be persecuted even unto death. And three, in the future those two witnesses will be raised from the dead and vindicated by God. What all of that has to do with you and me today, I am not sure. According to the pre-tribulational view we won’t even be here to see it, for all Christians, they say, will be raptured secretly (though the scriptures never speak of a secret rapture) before these two individuals arrive on the scene. It’s no wonder that I had little desire to preach through the book of Revelation when I understood it according to that pre-tribulational, pre-millennial scheme. Not only did the book make little sense to me, it also seemed to be of little value to the people of God yesterday and today. Of what use was it except to encourage the saints towrads idle speculation concerning the future, which was something Christ explicitly warned against.

But I have come to believe, and hope this is true of you as well, that the book is not only about the future, but that it was given for the church yesterday and today so that all who have ever read it are “Blessed… [to read] aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed… [to] hear, and [to] keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3, ESV).

The church of 100 a.d. is represented here in this text. The church of 1,000 a.d. is represented here in this text. And so too is the church of 2,017. Her mission is the same no mater the year. She is to witness concerning Christ! She is to testify to the world concerning sin, the threat of judgment, and the promise of sins forgiven through faith in Jesus the Christ. Christ gave her this charge through his Apostles, when he said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

The Job Of The Church Is To Witness

Friends, please recognize that the book of Revelation was written with this purpose in mind: to strengthen the church’s witness in the world. The book reveals what it reveals, not just so that something concerning the future might be revealed, but in order to strengthen the church in her witnessing role. The objective of the book of Revelation is to make the church more faithful to Christ – to encourage her to walk in this world with Jesus as Lord. From the beginning the aim of the book has been to strengthen the church’s witness.

Remember that in the very first verse John refers to himself as a witness: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness [μαρτυρέω] to the word of God and to the testimony [μαρτυρία] of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” (Revelation 1:1–2, ESV).

And remember that in 1:4-5 Christ himself is referred to as the faithful witness: “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace… from Jesus Christ the faithful witness [μάρτυς], the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth…” (Revelation 1:4–5, ESV).

In 1:9 John informs us that he had been imprisoned on the island of Patmos because of his witness: “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony [μαρτυρία] of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9, ESV).

In 2:13 a man by the name of Antipas who was a member of the church in Pergamum was commended by Christ for being a faithful witness, even to the point of death. Christ spoke to the church in Pergamum saying, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness [μάρτυς], who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” (Revelation 2:13, ESV).

And then in the letter to Laodicea Christ is again called the faithful witness. In 3:14 we read, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness [μάρτυς], the beginning of God’s creation” (Revelation 3:14, ESV).

And do not forget the vision that John saw when the the fifth seal was broken. “When [Christ] opened the fifth seal, [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness [μαρτυρία] they had borne” (Revelation 6:9, ESV).

We should also remember the way that the churches were symbolized at the beginning of the book of Revelation. They were symbolized by seven golden lampstands. What is the function of a lamp except to shine forth light in the darkness? The churches are symbolized by lampstands to indicate that this too is the function of the church, to shine as Christ’s witnesses in the midst of a dark world. Christ spoke to his followers saying,

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16, ESV).

The churches were symbolized by lamp stands to make this point: the job of the church is to witness, to shine forth as light in the darkness.

And how many of the seven churches were found faithful? Two were found faithful. Perhaps this is another reason for there there being two witnesses in Revelation 11:3. Perhaps the two witnesses, who are also called two lampstands, are intended to remind us of the two churches out of the seven who were found faithful in their witness to the world.

I’m trying to draw your attention to the fact that the book of Revelation says to the church over and over again, and in a diversity of ways, be faithful unto Christ in this world. Do not compromise. Do not succumb to the temptation. Do not be overrun by false teaching. And do not bend to persecution. Worship God alone through Christ, and testify – witness – concerning the life that is found in him.

Friends, this is our mission. We are to testify concerning Christ in all we do. This applies to us as individual Christ followers. It also applies to us corporately. We are individually and together to testify concerning Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. We are to testify that in him, through faith in him, is found the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God.

The Church Ought To Expect Opposition From The Unbelieving World

The second truth that must be drawn from this text is that the church ought to expect unrelenting, and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world as she witnesses.

By “unrelenting” I do not mean to say that every Christian will constantly experience persecution. Clearly that is not the case. Nor do I mean that every local congregation church will constantly experience persecution. God, in his mercy, does give peace to his church from time to time and from place to place. By “unrelenting” I mean that the church will be constantly opposed, in one way or anther, by the evil one and those who serve him.

Indeed, that is the picture that is painted here in Revelation 11:4-6. The whole scene is that of conflict between the witnessing church and the unbelieving world. “And if anyone would harm them” the text says “fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed” (Revelation 11:5, ESV).

The language used here is meant to remind us of the ministry of Moses and Elijah. These two men knew what it was like to testify concerning the salvation of God and to be opposed by the unbelieving world at every turn. Just like Moses and Elijah, the church too will “have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:6, ESV).

God will furnish his people with all that they need to stand in the face of opposition. More than that God has given the church authority and has promised to be with her so that she be used by God as an instrument of judgment upon the ungodly. This is true even if the church seem very weak and the world very strong.

Think of Moses standing before Pharaoh as God’s witness. There is Pharaoh with the wealth and power of mighty nation standing behind him. And there is Moses, a poor shepherd, standing before him with only Arron at his side. When viewed only from a natural perspective we would have to say, “Moses doesn’t stand a chance! He will surely fall!” But Moses stood. It was through him that a kind of salvation was achieved for God’s people. Why? Because, viewed from the supernatural and Biblical perspective, the power and favor of God was with him. So it is for Christ’s witnessing church. She will be opposed by the powers of this world, but she will stand.

Think of Elijah standing before the powerful and wicked king Ahab. “Now Elijah…said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word”(1 Kings 17:1–2, ESV). Viewed from a natural and worldly perspective we would have to say, “Elijah doesn’t stand a chance! He will surely fall!” But Elijah stood. And why did he stand? Because he stood before the Lord, the God of Israel, who lives and act for the glory of his name and the good of his people.

Wherever we find the people of God testifying to the glory of God and of Christ we will find the people of God opposed. That opposition will manifest itself differently, but mark my word, there will be opposition one kind or another. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (Matthew 10:24–25, ESV).

When I say the church ought to expect “ever increasing” opposition I do not mean that Christians will face more and more opposition universally with every passing year, but that generally the trajectory will be towards more conflict between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of Christ.

If someone were to ask me the question, “will things get better or worse as human history progresses and the end draws near?” I would say “yes”. Yes, things will get better in that Christ’s kingdom will advance just has he promised it would. But “no” I do not expect to see the transformation of culture leading to some sort of peaceful relationship between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of Christ. The postmillennialists hope for something like this. The Neo-Calvinists (or the Neo-Kuyperians) hope for something like this. They expect to see this world transformed for the good, in one way or another, before Christ returns. I can’t find any evidence for this in the pages of holy scripture. What I see is an unrelenting and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world against Christ and his church. On this point I actually think the pre-millennialists have it right.

This passage seems to portray that very thing. In verse 7 we read, “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:7–8, ESV).

When will this intense period of persecution take place? It will happen when “they” the witnesses who symbolize the church, “have finished their testimony”. When will the church be done with her testimony? At the end of time.

Jesus put it this way in Matthew 24:14:“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony [μαρτύριον] to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14, ESV)

Who will be persecuted? Not two individuals, but the whole church.

And who will persecute? The texts tells us that it will be “the beast that rises from the bottomless pit [who] will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.”

This is interesting because we have not been introduced to this beast yet. The book of Revelation will eventually come to focus upon him, but here we have only a preview. He will be formally introduced in 13:1. His destruction will be portrayed in 19:19.

Take note of this, friends. This passage that we are now considering is setting us up to understand all that follows in the book of Revelation. Here the witnesses, who represent the church, are persecuted by people, but who is behind it all? In reality the persecution experienced by the church on earth and at the hands of lawless men is inspired by forces in the spiritual realm. It is the dragon, who will be introduced to us in chapter 12, who motivates it all. And the dragon uses three powers – the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot. These four will be introduced one by one starting in chapter 12, and then judged by God, one by one, and in reverse order beginning in chapter 17. Here in chapter 11 we are given an earthly perspective of the church. She is likened to the courtyard of the temple left exposed to the trampling of the nations. She is likened to two witnesses conquered and killed, “their dead bodies [lying] in the street”. But chapters 12 through 19 will show us something of the evil forces that lie behind every particular instance of opposition and persecution experienced by the church in this world.

Where will this persecution take place? The text says it will happen in “the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8, ESV). Take note of the word “symbolically” which can also be translated “spiritually”. It would incorrect to say that this persecution will be isolated to one particular geographical city. Instead we have reference being made to four cities, and we are explicitly told to understand them symbolically, or spiritually. The four cities are these – Babylon (Babylon is called “the great city” many times later in Revelation),  Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem (which was the city where the Lord was crucified). What do these cities all have in common? They are all locations that had become notorious for their sinfulness and their ill treatment of the people of God. These cities symbolize earthly, sinful, and persecuting world powers. The saints who read this letter in 90 a.d. would have undoubtably thought of Rome.

It is important, I think, to see that this “great city” symbolizes everything that stands in opposition to the “holy city” that was mentioned at the end of verse 2. What we have, then, are two cities – the “holy city”, which symbolizes the church and the kingdom of God, and “the great city”, also called Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem. These two cities exist in this world and are diametrically opposed to one another. The “great city” persecutes the “holy city”. The “holy city” will be trampled underfoot. The two witnesses will be killed and left to lie in the streets of “the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.”

The point is this, “the church ought to expect unrelenting, and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world as she witnesses.” Brothers and sisters, this is not our home.

The Church Will Be Preserved And Vindicated, And The Wicked Judged

Lastly, recognize that though the church on earth be trampled even to the point of death, she will in the end be preserved, rescued, and vindicated, and the wicked judged.

Verses 9-13 provide us with a glimpse of the resurrection of the just when the Lord returns and also of the beginning of the judgment of the wicked.

Look at verses 9-10:

“For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:9–10, ESV).

This “three and a half days” symbolizes a period of particularly intense persecution that will come upon God’s people immediately preceding the end of time.

Look at verse 11: “But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them” (Revelation 11:11, ESV). Here we have a reference to the resurrection of the dead. It is the same event that Paul spoke of in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 saying,

“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:15–16, ESV).

Revelation has already shown us that to die in Christ is really to live. “When [Christ] opened the fifth seal, [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Revelation 6:9, ESV). Here that glorious truth is portrayed, that to “be away from the body… [is to be] at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, ESV) in the soul. But here in 11:11 we have a picture, not of the souls of deceased saints alive in heaven, but of the resurrection of the body. “But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.”It is at the resurrection that the church will be most completely vindicated before her enemies.

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, ESV).

And notice that it is then, at the second coming of Christ, and at the resurrection, that the final judgment will begin.

Look at verse 13: “And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:13, ESV).

I am not saying that this is the final judgment, only that it is here that the final judgment begins. Here we have a description of what will happen to the wicked who are alive on the earth when the Lord returns. The Lord will return to rescue his bride who will be in tremendous peril, and he will begin to pour out his wrath upon the his enemies.

Revelation will give us many other perspectives on the final judgment in the chapters that follow. Here is but one perspective. When Christ returns he will rescue his bride, and he will judge his enemies. Those who are not killed will be “terrified and give glory to the God of heaven.” This text does not say that they will repent and be saved, for then it will be too late! It only says that they will be “terrified and give glory to the God of heaven.” Indeed Paul has said that in the end, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11, ESV). This is what Revelation 11:13 portrays: the return of Christ, the resurrection of the just, and the beginning of the judgments of God poured out upon the wicked.

Application

Brothers and sisters, let us take just a moment to apply this text before we conclude.

One, I think it is right for us to give thanks to God for the peace we enjoy in this world. It is unusual.

Two, I think it would be good for us to recognize that though we are not currently experiencing overt persecution we are not without opposition.

Three, if we are without opposition I think we should ask ourselves, “am I being a witnesses?” One way to avoid opposition is to compromise in our witness. I am not saying that we should stir up trouble. But if we are faithful to Christ in this world, opposition of one kind or another will likely come. Many churches have compromised in our day. Many Christians have compromised.

Four, it is good for us to think about eschatology. Eschatology (the study of last things) is so important because it sets our trajectory. What we think about the end determines how we go about living today. Two questions come to mind: Do you believe in the resurrection? Do you believe in the final judgment?

Five, proclaim Christ. Testify concerning him in word and in deed.

Old Testament Reading: Zechariah 4

“And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ And I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. ‘These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.’ Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?’ He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth’” (Zechariah 4, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:3-14

“‘And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come” (Revelation 11:3–14, ESV).

Introduction

Let us remember where we are in the book of Revelation. We are still considering the second of two interludes found in this book.

The first interlude is in Revelation chapter 7. There we experienced a break in the action as the seal cycle was interrupted by the vision of the sealing of the 144,000 and also the vision of a great multi-ethnic multitude worshiping God in heaven. These visions are inserted between the opening of the sixth and sevenths seals.

The function of the first interlude is clear.  The visions introduced by the breaking of each of the seals have primarily to do with the judgements of God poured out upon the earth. The question left hanging is, “what about God’s people? Will they succumb to God’s wrath? Will they be caught up in and swept away by God’s partial and perpetual judgments as he pours them out upon the earth?”  The interlude of chapter 7 answers that question by focusing in upon the church and portraying them, first of all, as a holy people numbered for battle and sealed by God, and then as a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” worshipping (Revelation 7:9, ESV). The seal cycle depicts the judgments of God poured out. The interlude of chapter 7 depicts the people of God protected, preserved on earth, and then brought safely home.

The second interlude is found inserted in between the  sixth and seventh trumpets. In chapter 10 John is recommissioned as a prophet and in chapter 11 we encounter a vision that mirrors the vision of chapter 7. The chapters are not identical – they each have a slightly different message to communicate – but they are very similar.

If we were to set them side by side we would see that both the interlude of chapter 7 and the interlude of chapter 11 focus in upon the church. Both answer the question, what about the people of God? Will they be caught up in the judgments of God poured out upon the earth (as portrayed in the breaking of the seals) and upon the wicked (as portrayed in the sounding of the trumpets)? The answer in both interludes is essentially the same: Though God’s people will indeed suffer tribulation as they sojourn in this world, God will preserve them in the midst of it and will bring them safely home.

In the interlude of chapter 7 the people of God are sealed while on earth – possessed and preserved by him – and then seen worshipping comfortably and securely, having been brought safely to their heavenly home.

In the interlude of chapter 11the people of God are measured. They worship at the heavenly temple that is at once perfectly secure and yet vulnerable as those who worship there sojourn upon the earth in this age where “the court outside the temple… [is left unmeasured and is] given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2, ESV).  Those who worship God through faith in Christ worship at the heavenly temple and are measured by God, possessed and preserved by him. They will suffer tribulation in the world, no doubt, but by the end of this glorious vision those faithful to Christ are seen to be vindicated and brought safely home.

So, both the seal cycle and the trumpet cycle depict God’s judgments, and both interludes – the one in chapter 7 and the one in chapter 11 – depict the preservation of God’s people in the midst of tribulation.

There are three points that need to be drawn from the text that we are considering today. I will state all three, but then we will return to consider only point one in detail; points two and three we will return to next week.

First of all, we must recognize that the job of the church, as we live in this present evil age, is to witness. We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, his life, death and resurrection.We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning the good news that in Christ, through faith in him, there is found the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. And we are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, that he will indeed return, this time not to accomplish salvation, but to rescue those who belong to him and to judge those who do not from amongst the living and the dead. The job of the church is to witness.

Secondly, see that the church ought to expect unrelenting, and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world. The world – those not given to the Son by the Father – will hate the testimony that they hear from the Christian witnesses. It will be an irritant to them, and they will respond with varying degrees of hostility. That is, unless the Holy Spirit is at work within them, drawing them to repentance. The church ought to expect opposition as she witnesses.

Thirdly, recognize that though the church on earth be trampled even to the point of death, she will in the end be preserved, rescued and vindicated, and the wicked judged.

This is the message communicated in this wonderful passage. Let us consider the first point more closely today.

The Job Of The Church Is To Witness

Brothers and sisters, consider that the job of the church is to witness concerning Christ.

Revelation 11:3 says, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3, ESV).

Notice a few things about this verse:

First of all, notice that this declaration is being made by God and that it is closely connected to what has just been said concerning the measuring of the temple, the alter and those who worship there, and the leaving of the courtyard exposed to the trampling of the nations. Verse 3 goes with verses 1 and 2 – that is my point.

The question that we might ask after we have considered verses 1 and 2 is, why would God leave the temple courtyard and the holy city, which symbolizes the Christ bride, his church, as she lives in this in this world, exposed? The answer is, so that the church would witness to the world concerning Christ.The close connection between verses 1 and 2 and verse 3 makes it clear.

Jesus said to his disciples before his ascension, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

A witness is one who testifies in legal matters. A witness provides evidence. A witness says, “this is what I saw.” The Apostles of Christ were able to witness concerning Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection because they saw it.

Listen to how the Apostle John begins his epistle, 1 John. He says,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify [μαρτυρέω, the verb form of the noun μάρτυς found in Acts 1:8 and Revelation 11:3] to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1–3, ESV)

John is saying that as an Apostle of Christ – as an eyewitness to his life, death, and resurrection – he is able to witness or give testimony concerning Christ. You and I as Christians today are witnesses to Christ only so long as we are faithful to say what the Apostles, who were eyewitnesses, have said. The church witnesses concerning Christ only so long as she is faithful to build upon the foundational witness of the Apostles and prophets, Christ being the cornerstone.

Secondly, notice that these witness are said to have authority. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses”, the text says. When the church testifies she does so with authority. She has authority, not because it resides within her automatically, but only so long as she testifies to the truth.

Thirdly, notice that there are two witnesses. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth”, the text says.

The hyper-literalistic, futuristic, dispensationalist, being driven by their erroneous presuppositions and their faulty method of interpretation, believes that this verse will be fulfilled in the future when two individuals will appear to witness for a literal three and a half years immediately preceding the end of time.

According to the futuristic interpretation it will be these two, and these two only, who will experience all that is said in the passage concerning them. These two individuals will in the future serve as witnesses. These two will be persecuted. These two will be instruments of judgment. These two will be killed. And these two will be raised to life and caught up into heaven.

By the way, what do those who hold to this position say when asked, how will it be that when these two witnesses, who you say are literately two individuals, are killed, their corpses left in the street for three and a half days, as verse 9 describes to us, that people all over the world will rejoice as they gaze upon their dead bodies? What is the popular answer to that question today? It is the one made popular by Tim LaHaye, the author of the, more-fictional-than-you-know, Left Behind Series. His view is that people the world over will see these two witnesses slain on television.

I bring this up only to highlight just how much the futurist interpretation divorces the book of Revelation from it’s original context, making much of the book to be all but meaningless to it’s original recipients, not to mention all who lived prior to the days of television or the invention of modern weaponry, etc.

In other words, if the futurists are correct then all who read this text prior to the 1920’s would have been utterly puzzled, thinking to themselves, “how could it be that the ‘peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and… those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:9–10, ESV).

It is far better to see that these two witnesses represent the church as she fulfills her role as witness.

The reasons for understanding the text in this way are numerous. I’ll briefly mention a few.

One, we should understand the two witness to symbolize the church because of the length of time that they are said to minister, namely 1,260 days.

I mentioned last week that this same period of time reappears in the book of Revelation over and over again, but stated in different terms. The time span is three and a half years.  It is referred to as 42 months (which is 12 months times 3.5 years) in 11:2 and also in 13:5-7. In both of these passages the emphasis is upon the people of God being trampled or assaulted. The same time period is referred to as 1,260 days here in 11:3 and also in 12:14-17 (1,260 days is 3.5 years times 360 days, which his is one year according to the calendar in use when Revelation was written – 360 days times 3.5 years equals 1,260 days). The emphasis in both of these texts is the protection of the church in the face of her advisories. Also, the language from Daniel 7 of a “time, times, and a half of time”, or three and one half years, is found in Revelation 12:7.

In each instance the time designation, be it 42 months, 1,260 days, or a time, times, and half a time, stands for the church age when the people of God will be both protected and preserved spiritually by God while being pursued and persecuted by the enemies of God.

This is what the period of time of three and a half years came to sand for. It symbolizes trouble for the people of God, particularly the temple of God. The number is rooted in Daniel 7, but it finds its significance historically in the three and a half year assault of the people of God and the temple of God at the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes from 167 to 164 B.C. – he attacked for three and a half years.  Even more recent was the Romans siege against Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. That all lasted three and one half years. And we have not mentioned the earthy ministry of Jesus, who was the eternal Son of God who tabernacled with us. His ministry lasted three and a half years. He, the true temple, was assaulted and, in the end, desecrated by lawless men. With all of these things, and more, in the background is it not hard to see that the time frame of three and a half years symbolizes a time of tribulation for the people of God, particularly the temple of God.

And who are the people of God under the New Covenant? The dispensationalists so misinterpret scripture that some of them will even say, “ethnic Jews!”. But the right answer according to New Testament is that it is all who have faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike, who are the people of God. They are the true children of Abraham, not according to their fleshly birth, but according to the their new birth in the Spirit.

And where is the temple. It is “neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21) “for we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV).

This period of time refers, then, not to a literal 1,260 days or a literal 42 months, but to the time between the first and second coming of Christ – a time marked by tribulation for the people of God as they sojourn on earth. A time marked by tribulation for the temple of God, namely the body of Christ, the church. This becomes especially clear in Revelation chapter 12, I think.

So if it is true that 42 months, or 1,260 days symbolizes the church age – that is, the time between Christ’s first and second comings – and if it is true that this is the time in which these two witnesses minister, then they cannot be two literal persons (unless we believe them to be almost 2,000 years old today), but they must represent something else – some other entity that has existed for the last 2,000 years, will continue to exist until the Lord returns, and has witnessing to the world concerning Christ as it’s mission. What do these two witnesses symbolize? They symbolize the church as she witnesses concerning Christ.

There are many other reasons to think that these two witnesses are not to be taken literally, but as symbolic of the church. I will briefly mention a few more for the sake of time.

Two, Notice that the witnesses are called “two lampstands”. What do lampstands symbolize in the book of Revelation? The church!

Three, these witnesses are said to torment the whole world, the end result being that the whole world sees and rejoices over their death. It is hard to understand, especially from the 90A.D perspective, how two individual people could possibly have such an effect upon all who dwell on the earth from every tongue, tribe, and nation. But it is not hard to understand how this could be of true of the church universal. Indeed her mission was and is to “go and make disciples of all nation”. Indeed, this is the mission that she has and will continue to accomplish. And we know that as she accomplishes her mission she makes some friends – they are called the elect of God – but she makes many enemies as she testifies concerning Christ.

Four, the oppression of the two witnesses in this passage mirrors the assault of the woman and her offspring by the evil one in chapter 12. We will eventially come to this passage. For now consider verse 15 of chapter 12 where the offspring of the woman are identified as being “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony [μαρτυρία] of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17, ESV). It is the church, and not only two individual witnesses, that is oppressed for these 1,260 days.

Five, notice that while the witnesses are clearly plural, they are in this passage also referred to in singular terms. This comes through more in the Greek than in the English, but I find it fascinating and worth mentioning. There are two witnesses, but in verse 5 we read, “And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes” (Revelation 11:5, ESV). “Them” is plural, referring to the two witnesses, but “mouth” is singular. You would expect the number to match. You would expect the text to say, “fire pours from their mouths”. The oddity is meant to grab our attention, I think, to help the reader understand that these two really stand for one thing, the church. The church speaks with one mouth as she testifies concerning Christ. The same thing happens in verses 7-9, but it is hidden behind an unfortunate English translation. the text says, “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:7–8, ESV). In fact, in the Greek the word translated “bodies” is singular. The beast conquers and kills them (plural), and their body (singular) will lie in the street. Again, you would expect the plural (so much so that our English translations feel compelled to provide it), but in the Greek you get the singular, perhaps in order to indicate that the two really stand for one thing, the church as she witnesses.

More reasons could be provided for viewing the two witness, not as referring to two literal persons, but to the whole church as she witnesses to Christ throughout the church age. For the sake of time we must be content with these five.

But why two witnesses? Why not one or seven?

There are many reasons. The main one is this: According to the scriptures if a testimony to be received as trustworthy and true in a court of law, two or more witness are required. The principle is repeated throughout the Bible, but the first mention of it is found in Deuteronomy 19:15, which says,  “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15, ESV).

Notice that these two witnesses have authority. The are said to stand before the “Lord of the earth”. Not only do they witnesses concerning the good news that life is found in Jesus’ name, but also concerning the guilt of sin.

These witnesses are two in number because they are like Moses and Elijah who announced and pronounced judgments upon the idolatrous world in their day.  Verse 5:

“If anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:5–6, ESV).

Clearly this is intended to bring to mind the ministry of Moses and the prophet Elijah.

Elijah shut the sky so that not rain would fall in 1 Kings 17. It was through the ministry of Elijah that fire came down from heaven to consume the idolatrous in 2 Kings 1. Similarly, here the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet:  “Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: ‘Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them” (Jeremiah 5:14, ESV). The church is to witness or testify concerning Christ and concerning sin just as the prophets did. The church is to call men and women to repentance. The church is to warn of judgment and to hold forth Christ. This was the ministry go Elijah and the prophets, and it is our top.

And the church is like Moses. These witnesses are said to “have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:6, ESV). Certainly this is to remind us of Moses and the plagues which led to the Exodus of Israel.

The church is to testify to the world concerning the the glory of God and of Christ. She is to preach Christ from the law and the prophets.

These witnesses are also two in number because they are the two “olive trees” of Zechariah 4. Clearly this is a reference to the Zechariah 4 passage that I read at the beginning of the sermon. There Zechariah saw a vision of “a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

A careful consideration of that text reveals that the two olive trees symbolize the Lord’s anointed ones (probably Zerubbabel, the governor, who was descended from David, and Joshua, the high priest). These have the task of rebuilding the temple of God. The promise is that these anointed one will be fully empowered by the Spirit of God to accomplish the task. The lamps will, through them, have a never ending supply of oil. The meaning of the passage is this: the temple will be rebuilt because God will supply for their every need. It will be accomplished, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, ESV).

What is the meaning here in Revelation 11? The church will have all that she needs to fulfill her witnessing task. As she fulfills it, the temple of God will be built up stone upon stone until the Lord return.

There may be others reasons for the witnesses being two in number, but these are central. Two witness are required to establish a case. The two witnesses correspond to and carry on the ministry of Moses and Elijah and she preached Christ from the law and prophets. And just as the Lord promised Israel that he would, by the power of the Spirit, provide for the rebuilding of the Old Covenant temple through his two olive trees, so too will he provide for the building up of the New Covenant temple, the church, through the outpouring of his Spirit.

Conclusion

How is your witness?

Witnessing involves more than the proclamation of the gospel.

It involves holy living.

At home as you witness to those in your household.

In the community as you interact with Christians and non-Christians.

In the church.

It involves living a life marked by love for God, dependence upon him, and thankfulness to him.

We witness as we gather for corporate worship.

We gather on the Lord’s Day to give glory to God. People take notice of this.

We must completely shed that old superficial American evangelical thought that we go to church on Sunday when it is convenient for us and when we feel like it as if it were mainly about us.

Friends, we are to gather together on the Lord’s Day, which is the Christian Sabbath, in obedience to the fourth commandment, to give worship to God. Is that not what happened at the temple? Why did the people gather there? To be encouraged primarily? No, they came to worship. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Indeed we are encouraged when we come to worship. Indeed that is one of our objective: the building up of the body of Christ, the encouragement of the Christian. But it falls under the prime objective of giving gory to God.

When you gather for worship you are testifying to all that God is worthy of our worship and that we must come to him through Jesus the Christ. To neglect it is to communicate to all who see that God is unworthy and that Christ is of little significance.

We witness by maintaining unity with one another.

Repent and extend forgiveness.

Labor to maintain unity.

“I therefore… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3, ESV)

Witnessing does not happen unless the gospel is proclaimed.

We must testify from the scriptures concerning sin.

We must testify from the scriptures concerning Christ – his life, death, and resurrection.

Having testified we must call men and women to faith and repentance, and to baptism within Christ’s church.

How is your witness?

How is our witness?

 

 

New Testament Reading: Hebrews 9:1–15; 23–28

“Now even the first covenant [that is, the Old Covenant] had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant… [Hebrews 9:23] Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 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 9:1–15; 23–28, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:1-2

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months’” (Revelation 11:1–2, ESV).

Introduction

In the previous sermon that I preached on Revelation 11:1-2 the majority of the time was devoted to proving that it is best to take the word “temple” in verse 1 to be a reference, not to a future rebuilt brick and mortal temple in the earthly city of Jerusalem, but to the heavenly temple and all who worship God the Father there through faith in Jesus the Christ in Spirit and in truth.

To put it differently, the measured temple of Revelation 11:1-2 refers to the church of God, purchased by Christ’s blood, and filled with the Holy Spirit, as she worships, not at the earthly Old Covenant temple of stone, which was a copy of the heavenly realities, but at the heavenly temple itself, “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” (Hebrews 9:24, ESV).

Remember the case that I made. This interpretation is the one that is in step with the overall message of the book of Revelation. This interpretation is the one that is in step with the way that the Apostles of Christ spoke of the temple – “For we are the temple of the living God”, Paul said (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV). This interpretation is the one that is in step with the way that Christ himself spoke of the temple. The eternal Word of God, the second person of the Trinity  “tabernacled” amongst us in the incarnation. Christ claimed to be the temple. He declared the earthly, Old Covenant,  brick and mortar temple to be desolate. And he promised to send the Spirit to fill, not the earthly temple, but his people after his ascension to the Father. I also demonstrated that this interpretation – the one that takes “temple” in Revelation 11:1 to refer to the church – is in step with all that the Old Testament has to say about the temple. For the earthly tabernacle, which later became the temple, was never about the structure itself, but rather God’s presence dwelling in the midst of his people, whom he had redeemed for himself. The Old Testament prophesies concerning a future temple clearly refer to one that is far superior to the earthy temple of the Old Covenant both in regard to its scope and the purity of the worship offered within (Ezekiel 40-48). When we read the New Testament it becomes clear that these Old Testament prophesies, types, and shadows all pointed to the Christ and to the temple of the new heavens and the new earth, of which Revelation 21:22 says, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV).

When John, in Revelation 11:1, “was given a measuring rod like a staff, and… was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1, ESV), he was to mark off, not a physical and earthly structure, but a heavenly and spiritual one. People were to be measured. It was “those who worship there” at the temple of God and the alter who were to be measured.

“Temple” In The Book Of Revelation

So where is this temple that measured? Let’s look more closely at the book of Revelation today to give a more precise answer to that question.

The Greek word for temple (ναός) appears sixteen times in the book of Revelation. Twelve times it is translated “temple”; four times it is translated “sanctuary” in the English Standard Version (ESV). Let’s look at these verses together.

Turn back to Revelation 3:12. To the Christians in the church at Philadelphia Christ said,  “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Revelation 3:12, ESV). Is this temple physical and earthly? No, it is clearly heavenly and spiritual, for it has Christians as it’s pillars, metaphorically speaking, and not stone.

Now turn to 7:15. Remember that this verse is contained within the interlude that comes between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals. Also, remember that this verse comes after the sealing of the 144,000 on earth. And remember that this verse is referring to those that John saw in heaven, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9–10, ESV). These are the ones who, in verse 15, are said to be “before the throne of God, [serving] him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence” (Revelation 7:15, ESV). Is this an earthly physical temple?  No, it is a the heavenly temple. It is the “temple” which is in heaven now where God dwells, being surrounded by angels and the souls of the redeemed who worship him day and night. The thing that makes it a “temple” is the presence of God with his people.

The next two occurrences of the word ναός are found in 11:1-2, which is the text we are considering today. We will return to it.

Turn to 11:19. There we read, “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:19, ESV).

Turn to 14:15.  There we read, “And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe’” (Revelation 14:15, ESV). Again, the word temple is used to refer, not to an earthly temple constructed by men out of stone but to the heavenly temple or dwelling place of God.

Turn to 15:5. There John says, “After this I looked, and the sanctuary [ναός] of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests” (Revelation 15:5–6, ESV).

Look at 15:8. There John says, “…and the sanctuary [ναός] was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished” (Revelation 15:8, ESV). This is a another reference to the heavenly sanctuary mentioned in 15:5.

Turn to 16:1. There John says, “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God’” (Revelation 16:1, ESV). Again, this is the heavenly temple. It is the place where God dwells, where he is worshipped and served, and from whence his judgments flow.

Finally, we come to Revelation 21:22, in which John describes the new heavens and the news earth, saying, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). It will be then, on that last day, that heaven and earth become one. It will be there in the new heavens and the new earth that the presence of God will be enjoyed by his people in a most immediate way. It will be in this place and at this time that all of the promises of God will be fulfilled in a most full and consummate way. There will be no physical temple made of stone on the earth in that day for all of creation will be God’s “temple”. His glory will fill all. His people will walk with him and enjoy his presence. This is the thing that Adam tasted of in the garden but forfeited. In the end God will bring it to pass, not through the obedience of the first Adam, but through the obedience of Jesus the Christ, whom Paul refers to as the second Adam. What has he done for us? He has made it possible for us to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

So we’ve examined every usage of the word ναός (temple or sanctuary) in the book of Revelation. Not once is the word used to describe a future, physical, earthly, brick and mortar temple. Most often the word is used to refer to the temple of God as it is in heaven now – the temple that John was, time and again, given a glimpse of in the heavenly visions shown to him. Sometimes the word is used in reference to the “temple” of the new heavens and earth, which is not made of stone, but includes the whole of the new heavens and earth, for the glory of God will fill all.

Remember Christ’s promise to the saints in Philadelphia: “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” In other words Christ says, “stay true to me till the end and you will enjoy a permanent place within my temple, that is, the heavenly one as it is now, and the temple of the new creation, which will come to be at the consummation. Does the hyper-literalist take this to mean that as faithful saints we will be transformed into stone and become literal pillars in God’s temple? They do not. Even they would have to admit that this is symbolic language which speaks of spiritual realities. Even they would admit that when Christ promises that the faithful will be pilers, he speaks metaphorically and means that they Christian will enjoy God’s presence an comfort forever and ever. But they are woefully inconsistent in their handling of this book.

We should not overlook the fact that word “temple” is actually used one time in the book of Revelation to refer to a literal temple of stone, built by man, which occupies a small piece of real-estate within God’s creation – a temple like the one that stood in Jesus’ day, the foundation of which remains in Jerusalem today. And that occurrence is found in Revelation 21:22 where John says, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). So the only time the word “temple” is used to refer to a temple of stone built by man,  John uses it to say, “I looked for one, but I did not see it.”

The Temple Measured

Having now considered the way that the word “temple” or “sanctuary” is consistently used in the book of Revelation it is not hard to understand the meaning of 11:1 where John “was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1, ESV).” By the way, we could have done the same thing with the word “alter” as we did with the word “temple”, demonstrating that this not a physical and earthly alter, but the heavenly one that has been mentioned numerous times in the book of Revelation thus far (Revelation 6:9; 8:3; 8:5; 9:13;14:18; 16:7).

John’s task was to measure the heavenly temple, the heavenly alter, and all who worship there.

And who are those who worship there?

The elect angels worship there. Revelation 7:11 says, “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’” (Revelation 7:11–12, ESV).

Those who have been killed for their faith in Christ worship there. “When [Christ] opened the fifth seal, [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Revelation 6:9–10, ESV).

Those who have faith in Christ who have died and gone to glory worship there. Remember that John “looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10, ESV)

And it is those who have faith in Christ living on earth worship there. “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne…” (Revelation 8:3, ESV).

These are the ones who have been measured. John measured the heavenly temple, the alter and those who worship there – the elect angels, the saints gone to glory, and those in Christ who dwell upon the earth.

And what does it mean to be measured?

Clearly to be measured is to be protected.

The only other time something is measured in the book of Revelation is in chapter 21 which describes the measuring of the perfect and pure new Jerusalem. John, being “carried… away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain… [saw] coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:10–11, ESV). The city is described as being perfectly cubed,12,000 stadia (which is 1,380 miles) in length, height, and width. It’s walls are 144 cubits (or 216 feet) high. It is of this city that John said,

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22–27, ESV)

The measuring of the city in Revelation 21 signifies, among there things, it’s security. This it is will be perfectly secure. “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

This is also the meaning of the measuring of the temple and those who worship there in Revelation 11. The heavenly temple is secure. Those who worship there are protected and preserved spiritually. That is true of those who are there now – the elect angels, and the elect saints who have gone to glory – and it is true of those in Christ who are still sojourning on earth.

You and I, brothers and sisters (please don’t miss this) worship now at the heavenly temple.

“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’ But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:18–24, ESV).

You and I, brothers and sisters, have been measured by God. God’s promise to us is that he will preserve and protect us to bring us safely home. Christ said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28–29, ESV).

The Temple Court And The Holy City Left Unmeasured

But it is important to notice that, not only was John commanded to measure, but to leave some things unmeasured.“Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:1–2, ESV).

Without a doubt this reference to the temple court and the holy city being trampled by the nations would have brought to remembrance the recent destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans. That was a cataclysmic event. It’s significance can hardly be exaggerated.

Jesus predicted that event in his earthy ministry, saying, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2, ESV).

The Jewish historian, Josephus, described the event after it happened. Here is the first paragraph of Book 7, Chapter 1 of Josephus’ , The War Of The Jews, also called, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem:

“Now, as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other such work to be done) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency… and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. (2) This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison; as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; (3) but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. (4) This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.

Some believe that the book of Revelation was written prior to 70 A.D. and that the destruction of the Jewish temple. Many of them believe that the events of 70 A.D. in some ways fulfilled, either in part or in whole, the passage that we are considering today. When they read the words, “do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations”, they think of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans. I do not wish to describe the preterist, or partial-preterist, position today, but to simply say that it seems better to understand the 70 A.D. destruction of the temple to be in the background of this text. Without a doubt this reference to the temple court and the holy city being trampled by the nations would have brought to remembrance the recent destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans.

Whether you believe the book of Revelation was written before or after the destruction of the temple you must admit that Revelation 11:1 is symbolic for the truth of the matter is that everything was leveled by the Romans in 70 A.D. The temple and the alter were not left standing.

Symbolized here, then, is this truth: though God’s true temple be secure (measured) in heaven, and though those who worship there, either from heaven or from the earth, be secure, preserved and protected by the very presence of God in and with them, the church is also vulnerable as she lives in this present evil age.

To put it differently, we have not yet come to enjoy the complete security associated with fulness of the eschatological new creation city and temple of Revelation 21 – the one of which it is said, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:23–27, ESV). That reality – the reality symbolized by everything being measured and declared to be temple – is yet in our future.

The temple of God as she is now must be viewed from these two perspectives: She is secure and yet vulnerable. This theme runs through the book of Revelation. The church is consistently portrayed as suffering yet secure, persecuted yet preserved. She, like Christ, her husband, is given to over to trials and tribulations, even to the point of death, and yet through death she obtains life. Christ said these things to us “that in [him we] may have peace. In the world [we] will have tribulation. But take heart; [Christ has] overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, when we think of God’s temple as it is today we are to think, not of the earthly, manmade, brick and mortar temple, which, under the Old Covenant, was merely a shadow or copy of heavenly realities and greater things yet to come, but instead we are to think of the heavenly temple itself – the place where God dwells in glory – and all who worship there in heaven and on the earth – “You are the temple of the Holy Spirit”.

And when we think of this heavenly temple we are to think of something that is both measured – owned by God, protected and preserved – and yet at the same time unmeasured – vulnerable to the trampling feet of the nations.

42 Months

How long will things go on like this? The text says that “the court outside the temple [will be]… given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2, ESV).

The hyper-literalistic, futuristic, dispensational, pre-millenarian takes this number to be both literal and in reference to a reality future to us. Their view is that this text describes things that will happen, primarily to ethnic Jews, in either first or second half of a seven year tribulation (forty-two months equals three and a half years).

It is far better, and far more instep with the method of interpretation demanded by the book of Revelation itself, to take the number as symbolic.

The symbolism associated with the time frame of forty two-months (or three and a half years) is beautifully complex. In general it represents a time of tribulation for God’s people. Certainly the prophesy of Daniel 7 stands behind the number forty-two. In verse 25 of Daniel 7 we find a prophesy concerning a period of suffering that would be experienced by the people of God under one who would “speak words against the Most High, and… wear out the saints of the Most High, and… think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25, ESV). The phrase “time, times, and half a time” stands for three and one half years, or forty-two months.

This prophesy of Daniel was initially fulfilled when “Antiochus Epiphanes oppressed Israel and ultimately desecrated the temple from 167 to 164 b.c. It is interesting that 1 Maccabees 1–3, 2 Maccabees 5; and Josephus’ works all describe the oppression as lasting “three years and six months.”

It should also be recognized that Israel wandered in the wilderness after their exile from Egypt, not for forty years as we commonly say, but for forty-two. Two years passed before they were condemned to wander for another forty because of the hardness of their hearts. There experienced a series of forty-two encampment before they entered the promised land.

Also notice that the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that the Romans siege against Jerusalem leading to it’s destruction in 70 A.D. lasted three and one half years, or forty-months.

Therefore, the time frame of forty-two months symbolized a period of suffering and tribulation for the people of God often with an emphasis upon trouble for the temple of God.

Notice that this same period of time is referenced again and again in the book of Revelation, but in different ways (recapitulation).

Look down at Revelation 11:3. There we read, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3, ESV). According to the Jewish calendar one year is 360 days. 360 times three and a half is 1,260. 1,260 days is another way of referring to three and a half years time or forty-two months.

Look at Revelation 12:6. There we are told of a vision of a woman who gave birth to a male child. The male child was caught to heaven, but the woman, being pursued by the dragon “fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:6, ESV), or forty-two months, or three and a half years.

Look at 12:14. There the woman is said to have been “given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14, ESV). The language of Daniel 7:25 is used here. It is a “time, and times, and half a time”, or three and a half years, or forty-months, or 1,260 days.

Finally look at Revelation 13:5-8 where we read,

“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:5–8, ESV).

The beast is here said to have authority for forty-two months, which is three and a half years, or 1,260 days, or a time, times, and half a time.

Clearly these are all descriptions of the same period of time. As we continue in our study of the book of Revelation it will grow exceedingly clear that these are all different ways of referring, not to a literal three and a half year period of tribulation yet in our future and immediately preceding the end, but to the whole time between Christ’s first and second comings. Perhaps the most obvious place to see this is in the episode of the woman giving birth to a male child, the child being caught up to heaven, and the woman being pursued by the dragon and yet protected for 1,260 days. Clearly this symbolizes the birth of Christ, his death, resurrection, and ascension, and the evil ones war against the church, and God’s preservation of her, not just in the time of the end, but from the birth of Christ in to the end. These numbers all amount to the same thing and they symbolize the church age – the age in which you and I live – an age marked by trials and tribulations, persecutions, suffering, and even death.

Here in Revelation 11:1-2 we are reminded that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that though we be trampled underfoot for these forty-two months, God is ever with us. We are measured and kept secure by his power in the midst of the tribulation.

This very truth is what provoked Peter to exclaim,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3–7, ESV).

Application

How might we apply these truths, by way of conclusion?

Expected tribulation.

Know that God’s presence is with you. Take comfort in him. Take sanctuary in him.

Remember that one of our primary functions as the church is to offer up worship to God. The 144,000 sealed reminds us that we are protected in the midst of battle. The measuring of the temple reminds us that we are preserved as we worship and serve the one true God in a hostile and idolatrous world.