Rev. 10:8 And the voice which I heard from
heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the
hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again... The
key word here is "again." In the last rendering of Daniel's 70th Week (the 8th
set), the Jews were the main target for the problems of the day. But as we'll soon see,
this rendering of Daniel's 70th Week spotlights the Gentiles.
...and said, Go and take the little book which is open... It is not
without significance that this little book was opened in the last 1/2 of Daniel's
70th Week for the Israelites (refer back to the 8th set), but opened during the first
1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week for the Gentiles. This is because the things written in the
little book will be God's final decrees. For Abraham's seed, the consummation of their
final day as God's chosen vessels on the earth will not take place until the end of the
Kingdom Age; hence, this is when the little book will be opened for them. But the
finale of the organized Grace-Age church as a chosen vessel to handle the Words of Life
will come to an end when the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week brings down the curtain on
our Age of Grace. This will be the time of the fulfillment of Luke 21:24. "And they [the Israelites]
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled."
(NOTE: As we have pointed out in our on-line book THE CLOCK OF THE AGES
[See booklet four, chapter
13], in Luke 21:24 Jesus is referring to the times of the
Gentiles [plural], not the time [singular]. This is because during our age, the
Gentiles have had two rules: i.e., spiritual and political. The time of their spiritual
authority will come to an end when the Church is Raptured at the end of the Tribulation
Period just prior to the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week. However, their political rule
[and their religious rule] will not come to an end until the end of the first 1/2 of
Daniel's 70th Week just prior to the installation of the Kingdom Age. So, for the Gentile
political and religious rulers [and for the unregenerated church leaders/ members left
after the Rapture], the little book will be opened at the end of our present
age.)
...in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. Remember,
the sea as used here stands for the masses of people who have no covenant with God, while
the earth stands for the things in nature on our planet. This phrase "standeth upon
the sea and upon the earth," shows that all on our planet will be under the feet or
authority of this angel who will have the power to do as God commands him. It should not
be considered unusual that the same expression is used to describe both the angel of the
previous set with its emphasis on Israel's end-time dilemmas and this set emphasizing the
Gentiles end-time woes. If we will but consider the end of the dispensations / ages since
the inception of Israel, we'll notice that they all end with both Israel
and the Gentiles falling under the judgment of God.
1) At the end of the Age of Promise, God came down heavy on the
people of Egypt who were holding the Hebrews in bondage -- wiping out their crops and
slaughtering their cattle, even taking their first-born sons and destroying their army in
the Red Sea. However, the Jews did not escape unscathed. They had to leave their homes and
much of their belongings; and with the exceptions of Joshua and Caleb, they all died in
the wilderness after 40 years of grievous wandering because of their grumbling and fault
finding with God.
2) At the end of the Age of the Law -- after the Roman
authorities crucified Israel's Messiah as demanded by the leaders of Israel — the
Gentiles entered into an oppressive darkness that can only be penetrated by faith in
Christ Jesus, the Light of the World (See Romans 2:12-16 cf. Acts 17:18-33.); while the
Israelites were cast into the outer darkness of their dispersion among the Gentiles with
its weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12 cf. Deuteronomy 30:1-5).
3) Then, at the end of our age, the Age of Grace, once
again we will see a dual judgment on both Israel and the Gentiles; and we see a pattern
emerging — i.e., not only does each age end with judgment on both Israel and the
Gentiles, but it seems that each succeeding set of judgments is harsher than the one
preceding.
If the judgment at the end of the Kingdom Age follows suit, then both the Gentile
population and the rebellious Israelites of the day can expect some very dire
circumstances.
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he
said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be
in thy mouth sweet as honey.
This is as it is with all things having to do with prophecy. First comes the joy of
receiving from the Lord the understanding of what He will do. But then, when the
realization of the tragedies and horrors brought about by sin settle in, the joy of the
regenerated spirit turns to sorrow for those still out in sin.
10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it
was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
As with all of God's Word, this prophecy came to pass — although a lot faster than
most.
11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and
nations, and tongues, and kings.
Again, Christ commissions John to prophesy, but this prophecy will not be primarily
Jewish as are so many of the Bible prophecies; but a greater portion of the prophecy will
be directed towards the Gentiles. That John has fulfilled his commission has been
witnessed by history; for every generation down through our age has heard of John's Book
of Revelation.
Rev. 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood,
saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is
given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two
months.
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it
is given unto the Gentiles... This language refers back to the outer court of
the temple which was referred to as the court of the Gentiles: i.e., the only part of the
temple where the Gentiles were permitted. It is doubtful that God is actually ordering the
measuring of the dimensions of the temple or the outer court. More likely, this has to do
with God's prophetic timeline; the forty-two months being a Gentile measurement of time
which is the same as the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week--i.e., the first 3 1/2 years of
the 70th Week. But we should note that all Gentile prophecies are ambiguous as far as time
(the "how long" or the "when"). This particular prophecy is spelled
out only because the Israelites are back in the running prophetically during the last 42
months of the times of the Gentiles. So, even though there is to be an overlap of the
things prophesied for Israel and for the Gentiles during the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th
Week, those things predicted for the Gentiles during this "time" were not to be
"measured" (i.e., put on the Hebrew's Prophetic Timeline).
and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months...This
ominous wording should be taken to heart by the Jew, especially when they consider the
holocaust and the anti-Semitism that they have already experienced throughout our age. Not
only will the Gentiles be in control for this 42 month period, but as was the case so
often in Old Testament times, their rule will again be at the expense of Abraham's seed
through Isaac.
|
Rev. 11:3 And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth.
The two witnesses shall prophesy for a thousand two hundred and threescore
days. (This number of days is equal to the entire last 3 1/2 years of Daniel's
70th Week, but does it mean that the time in which they are to prophesy will run the whole
of the last half of Daniel's 70th Week, or will they have started their period of prophecy
earlier in the "little season" when Satan is released from hell to try the
inhabitants of the earth?) Again, we are given a Gentile unit of measurement. And here
again at the end of the Kingdom Age, the Gentiles (i.e., those without a covenant with
God) will rise up against their creator.
...clothed in sackcloth... This term is usually reserved in the
Scripture for reference to Israel, but not exclusively. The term as used in this passage
brings to mind one of our Lord's comments. "Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! [two Jewish cities] for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon [two
Gentile cities], which have been done in you, they had a
great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes" (Luke 10:13).
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the
God of the earth.
...the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks... There has been
much speculation as to who the two witnesses in this passage will be. Many think it to be
Enoch and Elijah, who both were taken to heaven without going by way of the grave. Still
others feel that the two witnesses will be Elijah (representing Israel) and the Apostle
John (representing the Grace-Age Church). They quote John 21:20-23 as their authority. "Then
Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on
his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him
saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet
Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what
is that to thee?
Granted, it may be easier at first glance to visual the two witnesses of this passage as
individual persons. However, in the light of this verse, it is hard to support either
stance — since the "olive trees" and "the candlesticks" are terms
usually used in the Scriptures to describe the two churches (called-out ones); i.e.,
Israel and the New Testament Church.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
devoureth their enemies... This passage brings another Scripture to mind. "And [Jesus] sent messengers before his face: and
they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And
when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command
fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and
rebuked them..." (Luke 9:52-55).
I'm satisfied that this particular event was recorded because it points forward to the
prophesied activities at the end of the Kingdom Age.
...and if any man will hurt them,... All translations of the Bible
agree that this is not saying that the two witnesses will be hurt at this time, but that
it is speaking of anyone would want to or would try to hurt them
...he must in this manner be killed. That is, by the "fire"
that comes out of the mouths of God's two witnesses. Undoubtedly, those at the end
of the Kingdom Age will have an easier time understanding this language than we of the
Grace Age. The "Word of God" is our weapon and we "speak" life and
death, but it is hard to apply this understanding to this verse. Perhaps, this is because
we are of the "Kingdom in a mystery" and of the Age of Grace, wherein God is not
in the business of condemning, but of seeking to save the lost. However, it is written
that God's Spirit will not always strive with man; and it looks like that at the end of
the Kingdom Age, God will be tired of striving with those who choose the spirit of
rebellion over the Son of God. At any rate, whatever the case may be, it will be so bad
among the bad that it will qualify as the "second woe." (See verse 14.)
6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their
prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with
all plagues, as often as they will.
This passage could have both a literal and a spiritual interpretation of the prophetic
terms "rain" and "waters" like unto the ones we have already
discussed. However, the complete understanding of much of this passage, including
this verse, is probably reserved for another day; but it does remind us of the activities
of Elijah and Moses when they called upon God to smite their enemies.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth
out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill
them.
This verse would seem to uphold the idea that the two witnesses will be the two
churches at the end of the Kingdom Age: i.e., the Jews (many of whom will have come
through the horrible time at the end of our Age — remember, longevity will be
restored), and the Gentiles that will have put their faith in King Jesus. I say this
because it is hard to comprehend the beast and his followers making war against two
individuals, even if the two individuals will apparently have some supernatural powers.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
It has been said of the state of Florida in which we live, that in a relative short
time, the whole state will become just one big city. Could it be that at the end of the
Kingdom Age, the much of the world will be just "one big city"? If so, we can
understand that it will spiritually be under the control of the one who ruled Sodom and
Egypt as well as Rome / Jerusalem when our Lord was crucified; and that, of course, will
be Satan.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their
dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in
graves.
Again, it would be easier to visualize two people laying in a street in some town;
nevertheless, this could very well be talking about believing Jews and
Gentiles of the Kingdom Age. (By the way, it is interesting that I have never seen the
number "3 1/2" in any study of Biblical numerology.)
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry,
and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt
on the earth.
Once more, we're not sure just how these "witnesses"/ prophets will torment
them that will dwell on the earth at the time; but we can know that it will be in a way
that gets the attention of the ungodly.
|
