God Has a Plan
Revelation 11:1-14
Message #22
Listen, listen. You guys realize that we live in a culture of state-run media, just like the Nazi culture, just like the Communist culture. When I was a kid, the news used to be the news. Listen, the news is not the news anymore. And our culture still naively believes they are actually watching the news. They’re not. You’re not. You’re watching indoctrination – it’s control. It’s state control through the media. It’s time to accept it – that is the culture we live in now.
Break free of the mind control. Get “Behold Israel.” Right now, it is so important that you connect with Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel. This is really important. This is Amir Tsarfati’s Telegram account. Telegram is one of the few social media outlets that the far-left liberals do not control. It’s not controlled by the state or by people that want to govern what you think. It’s protected.
Amir is being banned on all the media sites that do want to control what you think. So, first download Telegram from your device store, and then search for Amir Tsarfati at this link: https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel. As of this date, he has 460,000 followers. There are a whole bunch of fake Amir Tsarfati accounts on Telegram. So, if you look at one that doesn’t have 460,000 followers, you are looking at a fake one. Don’t do that. They’re just trying to get your money.
On Telegram, you can see what is really happening in Israel in real-time. I mean – the real stuff. And the graphic stuff they cover up, so you have to actually click on it so you can choose whether to see it or not. But all the stuff that our culture and the mind control media that is telling you that is not happening in Israel. It’s happening in picture and video form on Telegram. If you’re not brave enough to get out of that mind-control culture, you might believe what they are telling you. But it’s not true. It’s not true. It’s not true. It’s not true. Get some truth. Get some truth about what is happening in Israel.
If the Ezekiel 38-39 situation gets closer, we’ll do a study on it because it is kind of moving in that direction – which is full-scale end-of-the-world stuff. As soon as Barack Hussein finishes paying for a nuclear bomb for Iran, that’s it. Actually – Israel won’t allow it; it will be bad. The President that is actually running this country right now is working so hard to help Iran get that nuke so that they can take out Israel.
Here’s the deal. God has a plan! God has a plan! I’m consumed with what’s happening in Israel, so much so because of all the stuff that is really in our culture (and every culture) right now. But this is just the next chapter – just the next verses that we are studying in a verse-by-verse study of Revelation.
We’ve been saying that the focus of the second half of the Tribulation is more and more on Israel and for Israel’s ultimate good. We’ve entered the second half of the Tribulation, even in chapter-wise. There are twenty-two chapters; we’re in chapter 11.
So much of what we are going to see is God’s plan for Israel. It’s critically important that I tell you that there is a dangerous theology out there – super dangerous – It comes mainly in the Reformed Churches, and it’s called Replacement Theology. This is where the fathers of the Reformation decided that God had done away with Israel; he had discarded them, and he had replaced them with the Church. This is “hilarious” because then who is God going to replace US with when we mess up if he replaced Israel because they messed up? Watch out for this replacement theology.
God has a plan for Israel, and you see it in the second half of the Tribulation. The Church has not replaced Israel because God is immutable (that’s the word). He is unchangeable. It means he cannot change by his character. And so, the covenant promises he made to Israel in Genesis – he will fulfill completely. That plan will be fulfilled, and it is in the process of being fulfilled. So, watch out for that crazy replacement theology. God will keep his covenant to you. If you have received the covenant of grace and salvation of Jesus Christ – by faith in Jesus Christ – God will keep that covenant with you because God is a covenant keeper. And if God will keep his covenant with you, he will keep his covenant with Israel. And we’re going to see that more and more as we move into the second half of the Tribulation.
The other thing I have said is you can’t understand Revelation without understanding some of the Old Testament. You can’t. The Old Testament is mandatory to understand what’s happening in Revelation, especially the second half of the Tribulation. So much of Revelation is tied to the Old Testament, especially to Daniel and Ezekiel. I’d like to start over in Ezekiel 36 today. Ezekiel wrote during the years of the Babylonian Captivity when God sent Israel into captivity in Babylon for seventy years and when the first Temple was destroyed. In Ezekiel 36, the focus is on the promised restoration of Israel, and it’s important because the complete fulfillment of God’s promised restoration of Israel here in Ezekiel 36 will not occur until Revelation Chapter 20 (the Millennium).
I want you to see that God has a plan for Israel that is coming to pass. And I want you to connect it with the events in the world right now, and I want to leave saying, “You know what? God has a plan. And God will bring his plan to pass, no matter what.”
In Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel is writing during the Babylonian captivity, 586 or so BC. It happened in three stages. But God had Isreal taken captive by Babylon, to Babylon for seventy years. That’s also when the first Temple – Solomon’s Temple- was destroyed. Ezekiel 36 is the prophecy of God’s promised restoration of Israel. That’s what I want you to hear. This is really, really important because the complete fulfillment of God’s promise, his covenant promises to Israel, the complete fulfillment is not seen until Revelation Chapter 20. (The Millennium.)
God has a plan for the ultimate fulfillment of the promised restoration of Israel, so I thought we’d start today by looking at why God is going to keep and fulfill his covenant promise with Israel.
Ezekiel 36:22–23 (NLT)
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.
23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. (the nations is a reference to Gentiles – all peoples outside of Israel)
That is why God is going to keep and fulfill his covenant promise with Israel. God will fulfill this promise.
NOT because of WHO is Israel IS
But because of WHO GOD IS
If we accept that for Israel, we can accept that for our own lives. God makes that promise to you. He will keep it. Not because you continue to earn it or climb some religious ladder – or whatever – but by faith in Jesus Christ, you have entered that covenant promise of grace that God will finish the work that he began in you. So, if he’ll do it in you – certainly he’ll do it in Israel.
Continuing in Chapter 36.
Ezekiel 36:24–28 (NLT)
24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. (Now listen, this is the part that is going to be fulfilled in the Millennium when it is completely fulfilled)
26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
These are phenomenal promises for the future of Israel, and God is a promise keeper. He is THE Covenant Keeper, and God WILL fulfill this covenant.
THIS is a huge part of what God is accomplishing in the Book of Revelation.
Some of this prophecy occurred at the end of the Babylonian Captivity (538 BC) when Israel was allowed to come back to the Land – a portion of them.
The spiritual way for this to happen was made possible by Jesus Christ (in death and resurrection). It is only by Jesus Christ that God can put his Holy Spirit in a new heart in Israel. That will happen.
The physical process of this started in 1948 (May 14) when Israel became a Nation – a nation-state.
However, this prophecy will not be fully accomplished until Revelation Chapter 20 and the beginning of the Millennium. (Some people say, “How do you know this will be fulfilled in the Millennium?” I don’t. But I know one thing – IT WILL BE FULFILLED. God cannot go back on a covenant promise. He cannot. It is outside his character. And so, he cannot be God if he’s going to renege on a covenant promise to Israel or to you.
And it is not going to be accomplished easily.
FOR ISRAEL, the best is yet to come.
Unfortunately, the worst of the Tribulation is between now and then.
So, in Revelation Chapter 11, we are still in the pause (interlude) between the 6th and 7th Trumpets. In Chapter 11, John continues in his new role as an active participant rather than just a reporter. Up until the last Chapter, John was a reporter of what he saw. In Chapter 10, he becomes a participant, and he continues to be a participant.
Revelation 11:1 (NLT)
1 Then (cont’g from Ch 10) I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers.
So, John is now told to go and measure the Temple and the Altar and count those who worship there. In the Bible, the “marking off” or “measuring” of a thing always speaks of ownership and authority, and sometimes it speaks of God’s coming judgment, and BOTH are true here. God IS showing his authority over the Temple, and he is measuring it out for judgment.
But it’s important we understand there is a real Temple to be measured – a real, literal Temple IN Jerusalem. Back in Chapter 6, we introduced the false “Man of Peace” who came on the scene on a white horse (Antichrist), and we saw (from Daniel’s prophecies) that his claim to fame was going to be a peace treaty that allowed Israel to rebuild the Temple.
In Daniel Chapter 9, this prophecy is known as the 70 weeks of Daniel (70 sets of 7). The first 69 sets of 7 were perfectly prophesied right up to the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem at the Triumphal Entry. Then, there is a pause in the 70 weeks of Daniel, and that pause is the Church Age that we are in now. That pause is going to end with the Rapture, and at that point, the 70th (final) week of Daniel will begin, which we call the Tribulation Period.
At the beginning of that 70th week (the Tribulation), here is what Daniel 9, verse 27 says.
Daniel 9:27(a) (NLT)
27 The ruler (Anti-Christ) will make a treaty (peace treaty) with the people (Israel) for a period of one set of seven (7 yrs) . . .
We believe that is how the Temple will get built, possibly through the sharing of the Temple Mount.
Daniel 9:27(b) (NLT)
27 . . . but after half this time (3 1/2 yrs), he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings (IN the New Temple). And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration (himself, to be worshipped), until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
Hi fate IS going to be finally poured out on him. But before that, the Temple IS going to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. In fact, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem today has ALL the preparations ready to rebuild the Temple and reinstate the daily sacrifices.
This is all part of God’s plan. However, the purpose is not really to fire up the Old Testament sacrificial system again.
The Temple is built under the false peace of the Antichrist. It is desecrated by the Antichrist at the midway point, and it is where Jesus Christ will rule during the Millennium.
God owns it – he has authority over it, and it will be ultimately for his use.
But as for the outer courts of the Temple not so much.
Revelation 11:2 (NLT)
2 But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months.
The Outer Court is called the Court of the Gentiles, and God says that part of the Temple is literally cast out to the nations, and they will trample it for 42 months (3 ½ years) – and that number of months (42) ties directly back to the 70 weeks of Daniel – in Daniel 9:27.
The Temple IS going to be rebuilt as part of God’s ultimate plan for Israel.
Next, we meet the two witnesses who proclaim God’s authority over the Temple.
Revelation 11:3–4 (NLT)
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
4 These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.
These guys make John the Baptist look like a kindergarten teacher. God gives them authority to speak forth God’s Word with power for exactly 1,260 days (3 ½ years).
Now, these two witnesses don’t have to be previous Bible heroes brought back to earth, but many scholars believe one of these witnesses is Elijah because there are specific prophecies in Malachi about Elijah coming before the Day of the Lord (2nd Coming). Remember, they asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah, and the Jews are always looking for the return of Elijah because Elijah will be the herald who comes before the Messiah (for us – the 2nd Coming).
PLUS:
Elijah never died
Some of these miracles are Elijah’s specialties.
He’s already made this trip at the Mount of Transfiguration.
And when Elijah was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses was with him, and so may believe that is who is with Elijah here. Moses is named in connection with Elijah in the Malachi Prophecy. Moses is famous for the other miracles we’re about to see, and Moses also made this trip once – Mount of Transfiguration. And Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the prophets of the Old Testament. And so, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament – that’s the story of the Mount of Transfiguration.
These two Witnesses are commanding world-wide attention because the world hates them with a passion. The world has turned to the Antichrist by now, and these two Witnesses are going to be preaching against the Antichrist with fire and brimstone (literally), and God is going to supernaturally protect them.
Revelation 11:5 (NLT)
5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.
This is actually Elijah’s “most famous miracle.”
Ask the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18)
Ask the army squadrons sent to get Elijah in 2 Kings 1 – the King sends 50 at a time, and Elijah calls down fire on 50 at a time.
And now, in the Tribulation, if you come near these prophets to harm them, you will be toast – literally. They will be supernaturally protected by God until their task is finished.
Plus, they also have power over the elements and plagues.
Revelation 11:6 (NLT)
6 They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
At least now we have the answer to that age-old question. Who’ll stop the rain? Elijah is gonna stop the rain, and the period of time he stops the rain in the Tribulation is the same period he stopped the rain in 1 Kings – 3 ½ years.
And then the Moses specialty plagues come into view as well. These Witnesses turn the waters into blood and strike the earth with every kind of plague they want. That’s the classic Moses “attention getter” that we see in Israel’s exodus in Egypt. God is getting the world’s attention, and when God gets the world’s attention, he does it good! Think about God receiving glory (and he will) through or from his enemies.
And then, when God says their time of testimony is finished, he allows them to be finished. There are 36 references in Revelation to “the Beast,” and here in verse 7 is the very first one.
Revelation 11:7 (NLT)
7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.
The world is going to love it!!
Revelation 11:8 (NLT)
8 And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified.
In the Tribulation, Jerusalem will be:
Morally corrupt like Sodom
The people will be in bondage to the Beast – like in Egypt
And the bodies of these Witnesses will lie in the Main Street there.
Revelation 11:9 (NLT)
9 And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them.
In the 1970’s, Chuck Smith said that someday there is going to be a way for everyone to see what is happening in Jerusalem. We’re not sure how that’s going to come about, but some way there will be something that will allow all people, tribes, languages and nations to be able to see the bodies of these two Witnesses.
The two Witnesses are so hated they’re left lying dead in the middle of the street. And can you imagine all the media cameras set up on them so all the world can see the Antichrist has killed them.
Revelation 11:10 (NLT)
10 All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
The world will watch on 24-hour live TV the bodies of these two Witnesses decaying in the street, and the world will rejoice and exchange gifts because the two prophets from God are dead in the street.
The world has turned completely to the Antichrist, and their hate toward God is growing by the day and the testimony of these Witnesses and the miracles and the plagues don’t seem to turn any to God now. The heart of the world just keeps getting harder and harder toward God.
But God has another plan. God is preparing for the final display of his glory for the world and especially for Israel to see. In the next verses, we get a little prelude to the glory that God is going to bring to his own name. The world is rejoicing that the Antichrist has killed God’s two Witnesses. All their TVs are on, showing their decaying bodies. And then God says, “Helloooo!!!”
Revelation 11:11 (NLT)
11 But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them.
Just as the world saw them dead in the street, now they will see them come back to life. After three days, God breathes life into them. They stand up, shake off the rotten fruit people have thrown on them, and stare right into the cameras of the world!!!
And then, not only are they resurrected – they are Raptured.
Revelation 11:12 (NLT)
12 Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
With the TV cameras of the world trained on them, they ascend to Heaven in a cloud, just like Jesus did. The end of verse 12 says – and their enemies watched them (and in terror verse 11 says).
Guys, God will still be glorified even if you choose to be his enemy. But, if you choose to be his enemy, it will not work out well for you. PLEASE – do not choose to be God’s enemy.
Listen, bringing God glory is recognizing him for who he is and what he’s done. So don’t mistake this. That can happen with you as God’s enemy. God can reveal himself, reveal his glory, even if you are his enemy.
And now, just to make sure the world is paying attention, God gives Jerusalem a flicky cheek. God “flicks” his finger at the City of Jerusalem, and a tenth of the city falls to the ground.
Revelation 11:13 (NLT)
13 At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The people were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven, but that didn’t mean they were saved.
It means in terror they acknowledge WHO God IS. They acknowledged that God is who he SAYS he IS.
Don’t bring glory to God like that!! God will be glorified even through his enemies, but his enemies will lose in the process.
Today, instead of being his enemy, you can choose to share in his glory with him. Jesus Christ came to die in your place so that you could live with him for eternity.
He was forsaken by God so you could be forgiven.
He was condemned for your sin so you could be accepted.
He died on the Cross, so you don’t ever have to die.
Revelation 11:14 (NLT)
14 The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.
But way before any of this started, God made a way for you and I to escape it all and to live in victory with him instead of facing him as his enemy.
Romans 5:10 (NLT)
10 For since the death of his Son restored our friendship with God while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Today, have you received Jesus Christ into your life and become his friend? Or are you standing against God today as his enemy? Jesus is freely offering you salvation, victory, and friendship with him.
Break free of the mind control. Get “Behold Israel.” Right now, it is so important that you connect with Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel. This is really important. This is Amir Tsarfati’s Telegram account. Telegram is one of the few social media outlets that the far-left liberals do not control. It’s not controlled by the state or by people that want to govern what you think. It’s protected.
Amir is being banned on all the media sites that do want to control what you think. So, first download Telegram from your device store, and then search for Amir Tsarfati at this link: https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel. As of this date, he has 460,000 followers. There are a whole bunch of fake Amir Tsarfati accounts on Telegram. So, if you look at one that doesn’t have 460,000 followers, you are looking at a fake one. Don’t do that. They’re just trying to get your money.
On Telegram, you can see what is really happening in Israel in real-time. I mean – the real stuff. And the graphic stuff they cover up, so you have to actually click on it so you can choose whether to see it or not. But all the stuff that our culture and the mind control media that is telling you that is not happening in Israel. It’s happening in picture and video form on Telegram. If you’re not brave enough to get out of that mind-control culture, you might believe what they are telling you. But it’s not true. It’s not true. It’s not true. It’s not true. Get some truth. Get some truth about what is happening in Israel.
If the Ezekiel 38-39 situation gets closer, we’ll do a study on it because it is kind of moving in that direction – which is full-scale end-of-the-world stuff. As soon as Barack Hussein finishes paying for a nuclear bomb for Iran, that’s it. Actually – Israel won’t allow it; it will be bad. The President that is actually running this country right now is working so hard to help Iran get that nuke so that they can take out Israel.
Here’s the deal. God has a plan! God has a plan! I’m consumed with what’s happening in Israel, so much so because of all the stuff that is really in our culture (and every culture) right now. But this is just the next chapter – just the next verses that we are studying in a verse-by-verse study of Revelation.
We’ve been saying that the focus of the second half of the Tribulation is more and more on Israel and for Israel’s ultimate good. We’ve entered the second half of the Tribulation, even in chapter-wise. There are twenty-two chapters; we’re in chapter 11.
So much of what we are going to see is God’s plan for Israel. It’s critically important that I tell you that there is a dangerous theology out there – super dangerous – It comes mainly in the Reformed Churches, and it’s called Replacement Theology. This is where the fathers of the Reformation decided that God had done away with Israel; he had discarded them, and he had replaced them with the Church. This is “hilarious” because then who is God going to replace US with when we mess up if he replaced Israel because they messed up? Watch out for this replacement theology.
God has a plan for Israel, and you see it in the second half of the Tribulation. The Church has not replaced Israel because God is immutable (that’s the word). He is unchangeable. It means he cannot change by his character. And so, the covenant promises he made to Israel in Genesis – he will fulfill completely. That plan will be fulfilled, and it is in the process of being fulfilled. So, watch out for that crazy replacement theology. God will keep his covenant to you. If you have received the covenant of grace and salvation of Jesus Christ – by faith in Jesus Christ – God will keep that covenant with you because God is a covenant keeper. And if God will keep his covenant with you, he will keep his covenant with Israel. And we’re going to see that more and more as we move into the second half of the Tribulation.
The other thing I have said is you can’t understand Revelation without understanding some of the Old Testament. You can’t. The Old Testament is mandatory to understand what’s happening in Revelation, especially the second half of the Tribulation. So much of Revelation is tied to the Old Testament, especially to Daniel and Ezekiel. I’d like to start over in Ezekiel 36 today. Ezekiel wrote during the years of the Babylonian Captivity when God sent Israel into captivity in Babylon for seventy years and when the first Temple was destroyed. In Ezekiel 36, the focus is on the promised restoration of Israel, and it’s important because the complete fulfillment of God’s promised restoration of Israel here in Ezekiel 36 will not occur until Revelation Chapter 20 (the Millennium).
I want you to see that God has a plan for Israel that is coming to pass. And I want you to connect it with the events in the world right now, and I want to leave saying, “You know what? God has a plan. And God will bring his plan to pass, no matter what.”
In Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel is writing during the Babylonian captivity, 586 or so BC. It happened in three stages. But God had Isreal taken captive by Babylon, to Babylon for seventy years. That’s also when the first Temple – Solomon’s Temple- was destroyed. Ezekiel 36 is the prophecy of God’s promised restoration of Israel. That’s what I want you to hear. This is really, really important because the complete fulfillment of God’s promise, his covenant promises to Israel, the complete fulfillment is not seen until Revelation Chapter 20. (The Millennium.)
God has a plan for the ultimate fulfillment of the promised restoration of Israel, so I thought we’d start today by looking at why God is going to keep and fulfill his covenant promise with Israel.
Ezekiel 36:22–23 (NLT)
22 “Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations.
23 I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. (the nations is a reference to Gentiles – all peoples outside of Israel)
That is why God is going to keep and fulfill his covenant promise with Israel. God will fulfill this promise.
NOT because of WHO is Israel IS
But because of WHO GOD IS
If we accept that for Israel, we can accept that for our own lives. God makes that promise to you. He will keep it. Not because you continue to earn it or climb some religious ladder – or whatever – but by faith in Jesus Christ, you have entered that covenant promise of grace that God will finish the work that he began in you. So, if he’ll do it in you – certainly he’ll do it in Israel.
Continuing in Chapter 36.
Ezekiel 36:24–28 (NLT)
24 For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
25 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. (Now listen, this is the part that is going to be fulfilled in the Millennium when it is completely fulfilled)
26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
28 “And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
These are phenomenal promises for the future of Israel, and God is a promise keeper. He is THE Covenant Keeper, and God WILL fulfill this covenant.
THIS is a huge part of what God is accomplishing in the Book of Revelation.
Some of this prophecy occurred at the end of the Babylonian Captivity (538 BC) when Israel was allowed to come back to the Land – a portion of them.
The spiritual way for this to happen was made possible by Jesus Christ (in death and resurrection). It is only by Jesus Christ that God can put his Holy Spirit in a new heart in Israel. That will happen.
The physical process of this started in 1948 (May 14) when Israel became a Nation – a nation-state.
However, this prophecy will not be fully accomplished until Revelation Chapter 20 and the beginning of the Millennium. (Some people say, “How do you know this will be fulfilled in the Millennium?” I don’t. But I know one thing – IT WILL BE FULFILLED. God cannot go back on a covenant promise. He cannot. It is outside his character. And so, he cannot be God if he’s going to renege on a covenant promise to Israel or to you.
And it is not going to be accomplished easily.
FOR ISRAEL, the best is yet to come.
Unfortunately, the worst of the Tribulation is between now and then.
So, in Revelation Chapter 11, we are still in the pause (interlude) between the 6th and 7th Trumpets. In Chapter 11, John continues in his new role as an active participant rather than just a reporter. Up until the last Chapter, John was a reporter of what he saw. In Chapter 10, he becomes a participant, and he continues to be a participant.
Revelation 11:1 (NLT)
1 Then (cont’g from Ch 10) I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, “Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers.
So, John is now told to go and measure the Temple and the Altar and count those who worship there. In the Bible, the “marking off” or “measuring” of a thing always speaks of ownership and authority, and sometimes it speaks of God’s coming judgment, and BOTH are true here. God IS showing his authority over the Temple, and he is measuring it out for judgment.
But it’s important we understand there is a real Temple to be measured – a real, literal Temple IN Jerusalem. Back in Chapter 6, we introduced the false “Man of Peace” who came on the scene on a white horse (Antichrist), and we saw (from Daniel’s prophecies) that his claim to fame was going to be a peace treaty that allowed Israel to rebuild the Temple.
In Daniel Chapter 9, this prophecy is known as the 70 weeks of Daniel (70 sets of 7). The first 69 sets of 7 were perfectly prophesied right up to the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem at the Triumphal Entry. Then, there is a pause in the 70 weeks of Daniel, and that pause is the Church Age that we are in now. That pause is going to end with the Rapture, and at that point, the 70th (final) week of Daniel will begin, which we call the Tribulation Period.
At the beginning of that 70th week (the Tribulation), here is what Daniel 9, verse 27 says.
Daniel 9:27(a) (NLT)
27 The ruler (Anti-Christ) will make a treaty (peace treaty) with the people (Israel) for a period of one set of seven (7 yrs) . . .
We believe that is how the Temple will get built, possibly through the sharing of the Temple Mount.
Daniel 9:27(b) (NLT)
27 . . . but after half this time (3 1/2 yrs), he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings (IN the New Temple). And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration (himself, to be worshipped), until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
Hi fate IS going to be finally poured out on him. But before that, the Temple IS going to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. In fact, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem today has ALL the preparations ready to rebuild the Temple and reinstate the daily sacrifices.
This is all part of God’s plan. However, the purpose is not really to fire up the Old Testament sacrificial system again.
The Temple is built under the false peace of the Antichrist. It is desecrated by the Antichrist at the midway point, and it is where Jesus Christ will rule during the Millennium.
God owns it – he has authority over it, and it will be ultimately for his use.
But as for the outer courts of the Temple not so much.
Revelation 11:2 (NLT)
2 But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months.
The Outer Court is called the Court of the Gentiles, and God says that part of the Temple is literally cast out to the nations, and they will trample it for 42 months (3 ½ years) – and that number of months (42) ties directly back to the 70 weeks of Daniel – in Daniel 9:27.
The Temple IS going to be rebuilt as part of God’s ultimate plan for Israel.
Next, we meet the two witnesses who proclaim God’s authority over the Temple.
Revelation 11:3–4 (NLT)
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days.”
4 These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth.
These guys make John the Baptist look like a kindergarten teacher. God gives them authority to speak forth God’s Word with power for exactly 1,260 days (3 ½ years).
Now, these two witnesses don’t have to be previous Bible heroes brought back to earth, but many scholars believe one of these witnesses is Elijah because there are specific prophecies in Malachi about Elijah coming before the Day of the Lord (2nd Coming). Remember, they asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah, and the Jews are always looking for the return of Elijah because Elijah will be the herald who comes before the Messiah (for us – the 2nd Coming).
PLUS:
Elijah never died
Some of these miracles are Elijah’s specialties.
He’s already made this trip at the Mount of Transfiguration.
And when Elijah was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses was with him, and so may believe that is who is with Elijah here. Moses is named in connection with Elijah in the Malachi Prophecy. Moses is famous for the other miracles we’re about to see, and Moses also made this trip once – Mount of Transfiguration. And Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the prophets of the Old Testament. And so, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament – that’s the story of the Mount of Transfiguration.
These two Witnesses are commanding world-wide attention because the world hates them with a passion. The world has turned to the Antichrist by now, and these two Witnesses are going to be preaching against the Antichrist with fire and brimstone (literally), and God is going to supernaturally protect them.
Revelation 11:5 (NLT)
5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die.
This is actually Elijah’s “most famous miracle.”
Ask the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18)
Ask the army squadrons sent to get Elijah in 2 Kings 1 – the King sends 50 at a time, and Elijah calls down fire on 50 at a time.
And now, in the Tribulation, if you come near these prophets to harm them, you will be toast – literally. They will be supernaturally protected by God until their task is finished.
Plus, they also have power over the elements and plagues.
Revelation 11:6 (NLT)
6 They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.
At least now we have the answer to that age-old question. Who’ll stop the rain? Elijah is gonna stop the rain, and the period of time he stops the rain in the Tribulation is the same period he stopped the rain in 1 Kings – 3 ½ years.
And then the Moses specialty plagues come into view as well. These Witnesses turn the waters into blood and strike the earth with every kind of plague they want. That’s the classic Moses “attention getter” that we see in Israel’s exodus in Egypt. God is getting the world’s attention, and when God gets the world’s attention, he does it good! Think about God receiving glory (and he will) through or from his enemies.
And then, when God says their time of testimony is finished, he allows them to be finished. There are 36 references in Revelation to “the Beast,” and here in verse 7 is the very first one.
Revelation 11:7 (NLT)
7 When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.
The world is going to love it!!
Revelation 11:8 (NLT)
8 And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called “Sodom” and “Egypt,” the city where their Lord was crucified.
In the Tribulation, Jerusalem will be:
Morally corrupt like Sodom
The people will be in bondage to the Beast – like in Egypt
And the bodies of these Witnesses will lie in the Main Street there.
Revelation 11:9 (NLT)
9 And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them.
In the 1970’s, Chuck Smith said that someday there is going to be a way for everyone to see what is happening in Jerusalem. We’re not sure how that’s going to come about, but some way there will be something that will allow all people, tribes, languages and nations to be able to see the bodies of these two Witnesses.
The two Witnesses are so hated they’re left lying dead in the middle of the street. And can you imagine all the media cameras set up on them so all the world can see the Antichrist has killed them.
Revelation 11:10 (NLT)
10 All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them.
The world will watch on 24-hour live TV the bodies of these two Witnesses decaying in the street, and the world will rejoice and exchange gifts because the two prophets from God are dead in the street.
The world has turned completely to the Antichrist, and their hate toward God is growing by the day and the testimony of these Witnesses and the miracles and the plagues don’t seem to turn any to God now. The heart of the world just keeps getting harder and harder toward God.
But God has another plan. God is preparing for the final display of his glory for the world and especially for Israel to see. In the next verses, we get a little prelude to the glory that God is going to bring to his own name. The world is rejoicing that the Antichrist has killed God’s two Witnesses. All their TVs are on, showing their decaying bodies. And then God says, “Helloooo!!!”
Revelation 11:11 (NLT)
11 But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them.
Just as the world saw them dead in the street, now they will see them come back to life. After three days, God breathes life into them. They stand up, shake off the rotten fruit people have thrown on them, and stare right into the cameras of the world!!!
And then, not only are they resurrected – they are Raptured.
Revelation 11:12 (NLT)
12 Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, “Come up here!” And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched.
With the TV cameras of the world trained on them, they ascend to Heaven in a cloud, just like Jesus did. The end of verse 12 says – and their enemies watched them (and in terror verse 11 says).
Guys, God will still be glorified even if you choose to be his enemy. But, if you choose to be his enemy, it will not work out well for you. PLEASE – do not choose to be God’s enemy.
Listen, bringing God glory is recognizing him for who he is and what he’s done. So don’t mistake this. That can happen with you as God’s enemy. God can reveal himself, reveal his glory, even if you are his enemy.
And now, just to make sure the world is paying attention, God gives Jerusalem a flicky cheek. God “flicks” his finger at the City of Jerusalem, and a tenth of the city falls to the ground.
Revelation 11:13 (NLT)
13 At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The people were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven, but that didn’t mean they were saved.
It means in terror they acknowledge WHO God IS. They acknowledged that God is who he SAYS he IS.
Don’t bring glory to God like that!! God will be glorified even through his enemies, but his enemies will lose in the process.
Today, instead of being his enemy, you can choose to share in his glory with him. Jesus Christ came to die in your place so that you could live with him for eternity.
He was forsaken by God so you could be forgiven.
He was condemned for your sin so you could be accepted.
He died on the Cross, so you don’t ever have to die.
Revelation 11:14 (NLT)
14 The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.
But way before any of this started, God made a way for you and I to escape it all and to live in victory with him instead of facing him as his enemy.
Romans 5:10 (NLT)
10 For since the death of his Son restored our friendship with God while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
Today, have you received Jesus Christ into your life and become his friend? Or are you standing against God today as his enemy? Jesus is freely offering you salvation, victory, and friendship with him.