The ThirdTemple and Two Witnesses Resurrected by God
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UnderstandingRevelation Chapter 11
The ThirdTemple and The Two Prophets of the Tribulation Period
March 23, 2009
"...but the wise shall understand" (Daniel12:10 KJV)
Revelation chapter 11 covers several events of theTribulation Period. We will discuss the most significant events of chapter11; that of the Third Temple and the Two Witnesses. The events are mainlycovered from a Earthly perspective. Some have tried to allegorize thestory, but if we leave it in its context and balance Scripture with Scripture,the meaning becomes quite clear. The story has quite a few surprises instore for everyone involved.
Aswith most of Revelation, much of the language is symbolic, requiring anenlightened view of all Scripture and the knowledge of Jesus Christ as God'sChosen Messiah; a knowledge only revealed to and available to a believer (2ndCorinthians 4:4). Therefore, the Book of Revelation, also known as TheApocalypse or Revelation of Jesus Christ, is a perpetual mystery tounbelievers. For this reason, early Christians could copy and repeat themysteries found in Revelation without fear of the Roman government realizing itwas Gospel literature.
RevelationChapter 11:1-2(KJV) - The Third Temple of God in Jerusalem
Revelation11:1-2 Here we are very clearly shown that the Jews mustbuild the Third and final Earthly Temple to God in thecity of Jerusalem. The First Temple (Solomon's) was destroyed by theBabylonians during the siege of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The Second Temple(Herod's) was destroyed by the Romans during the siege of Jerusalem in 70A.D. The Future? A Third Temple will be built and desecrated justbefore the forthcoming siege of Jerusalem by the Antichrist during theTribulation Period as described in Zechariah14.
1And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angelstood, saying, Rise, and measure the Temple of God, and the altar, and them thatworship therein.
2 But the court which iswithout the Temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto theGentiles: and the Holy City shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
When Jesus spoke of the forthcoming destruction of the Second Temple by theRomans, He made it clear that Israel will eventually have total control ofJerusalem, though not during the first 1/2 of the Tribulation as is clearly seenin Revelation 11:2 above. Jesus also prophesied of the 500,000 Jews killedduring this siege and the forthcoming Diaspora which scattered the Jew from hishomeland to all the nations of the Earth:
Luke21:24 KJV 24 Andthey shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into allnations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times ofthe Gentiles be fulfilled.
The Apostle Paul reiterated Jesus' statement approximately 30+ years later, fromhis prison cell as he wrote the Book of Romans, prior to the Roman siege ofJerusalem in 70 A.D. Paul admonishes the Christian believer to respect theJew even though he may appear to be in unbelief. The "fulness of theGentiles be come in" is a reference to the Church Age which will have itsend prior to the Tribulation. From the destruction of Jerusalem by theAntichrist shall come a remnant of Israel, 1/3 oftheir population not killed during the siege (Zechariah12:2-3 KJV) will be Saved as describedin verse 26 below:
Romans11:25-29 KJV 25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest yeshould be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened toIsrael, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,There shall come out of Sion (Zion) the Deliverer, and shall turn awayungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall takeaway their sins.
28 As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for yoursakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father'ssakes.
29 For the gifts and calling of God are withoutrepentance.
RevelationChapter 11:3-13(KJV) - The Two Witnesses
Revelation11:3-4 Here we are introduced to the Two Witnesses(other names for them are also given) and their brief but powerful Earthlyministry is described. They wear the traditional sackcloth of prophets,signifying repentance. The duration of their ministry is 42 lunar months(30 days) clearly explaining that their ministry will cover 1/2 of the 7-yearTribulation period (Daniel9:27) ... the first 1/2:
3 And I will grantauthority to my Two Witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred andsixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the Two Olive Trees and the Two Lampstands that stand before theLord of the Earth.
Revelation11:5 As with all of God's prophets, special protection for the TwoWitnesses has been provided. As described here, thesupernatural powers of self-defense they have been given are quick and powerful:
5 And if anyone wantsto harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so ifanyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.
Revelation11:6 Though their true identity will not be known until their arrival, the TwoWitnesses have the same powers demonstrated by Moses andElijah. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mountof Transfiguration representing the summation of the Law and the Prophets,respectively. Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood and calleddown multiple plagues. Elijah withheld rain from Israel. Afterthe Church Age of Grace, God will manifest the Law and the Prophets onceagain. In the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets spoke mainly toIsrael ... Here, they will speak to the entire Earth:
6 These have thepower to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of theirprophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and tostrike the Earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
Revelation11:7-8 When their ministry is finished (after 1,260 days) God allows Satanvia the First Beast to attack and defeat the TwoWitnesses but the story still has surprises to comesoon. For now, their deaths are visibly confirmed by their corpses lyingin a street of Jerusalem, identified metaphorically in verse 8:
7 When they havefinished their testimony, the Beast that comes up out of the abyss will make warwith them, and overcome them and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city whichmystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Revelation11:9-10 For 84 hours,the world is so happy that these Two Witnessesare dead that they won't allow them to be buried! Rather, the world throwsa celebration of their deaths and exchanges presents with each other. Viewing their bodies is a focal point of the party:
9 Those from thepeoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies forthree and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in atomb.
10 And those who dwell on the Earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; andthey will send gifts to one another, because these Two Prophets tormented thosewho dwell on the Earth.
Revelation11:11-12 One nagging thing about a party ... there's always a party spoiler!... This time it's God ... as part of His surprise, He decides to bring the TwoWitnesses back from the dead (probably the ultimate partytrick!) right in front of the world ... and it's just when the party had reallygot going! This really kills the spirit (unearthly that is!) of the partyand scares all of the partygoers to death (God did the same thing to theChaldean King Belshazzar in Chapter5 of the Book of Daniel) ... For more party fun, God then Raptures the TwoWitnesses directly into Heaven, right in front ofeveryone:
11 But after thethree and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and theystood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, "Come uphere", Then they went up into Heaven in the cloud, and their enemieswatched them.
Revelation11:13 God has a little surprise party of His own ... to break up the world'sparty, He sends a big earthquake upon the city of Jerusalem ... 10% of the cityis destroyed ... 7,000 people are killed ... but surprise! ... the remainingpartygoers decide to worship God!:
13 And in that hourthere was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousandpeople were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave gloryto the God of Heaven.
Besure and R.S.V.P. your regrets to this world party! Besides, the onlyproper attire is sackcloth!
MIDI Music: "Spiritin the Sky"