1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

Things to Come,  Lesson 24, The Great Tribulation, Part 12, Revelation, Chapter 11

 

In our previous lesson of our "Things to Come", series we were given by our Lord knowledge of two witnesses who will appear after the sixth trumpet announcement when the seventh seal is opened.

It is the second woe of three woes accompanying the opening of the seven seal book.

We have read of this and will now read again in Revelation 11:3-6:

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And 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. 6These 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.

We are not given any positive identification of these two witnesses but if they are men who have previously ministered on the earth it seems most likely they are Moses and Elijah.

Remember Moses and Elijah previously were witnesses for God when on the mountaintop they spoke to Jesus in the sight of Peter, James and John, as God also witnessed regarding His son, when He said "This is my beloved Son: hear him."

The powers they are given during the Great Tribulation had already been given to them, of course on a smaller scale, during their Old Testament ministry.

Elijah had called down fire from heaven and shut up the heavens for three and one half years or 42 months.

Moses turned water into blood and called down ten plagues upon Egypt.

These events are but a small foretaste of things to come during the time of the two witnesses.

For these two witnesses will have great worldwide power to destroy men and to preserve Israel until God takes them off the scene prior to our Lord Jesus Christ coming to rescue his people.

As we have already seen in the opening of the seven seal book this time will be a time like no other.

The silence of God will be broken for this time will be a time of supernaturalism which means things will take place outside of God’s natural order.

Natural laws, upon which we absolutely depend will be allowed to fail at times during this period.

The heavens will announce judgment.

The heavens not only will declare the glory of God but during this time the heavens will declare the judgment of God.

The two witnesses will be untouchable for 42 months with powers to dry up the clouds that it not rain.

They will have power to turn water sources to blood that it not be drinkable.

They will have power to bring forth all kinds of plagues.

They will be sent forth to engage the powers of hell in this earth’s climatic conflict.

They will be sent forth to purge and to prune and prepare for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist was a voice that cried in the wilderness proclaiming what Isaiah the Prophet wrote of in:

Isaiah 40:3-8,  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Notice the emphasis on the grass.

The people is grass.

Remember what has taken place in the opening of the seventh seal.

All green grass was burned up.

John the Baptist was the forerunner of these two witnesses for they are sent to participate in preparing the way of the Lord.

For the Great Tribulation will result in making straight the highway for our God, the exaltation of every valley, the making low of every mountain and hill, and the making straight every crooked thing, and the making of every rough place plain.

Upon completion of John the Baptist’s mission God took him, and it will be the same when the mission of the two witnesses is complete, after their bodies lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half days, God will call them home.

Revelation 11:12, And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Their home going is a prelude to the Lord’s coming.

The mystery of God is over for the revelation of the Lord is come.

And as we read in Isaiah 40:5, And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

For after the taking up of the two witnesses the seventh trumpet of the seventh seal will reveal the glory of the Lord to all flesh.

This we read of in Revelation 11:14-19:

The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 15And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 19And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

We are given in this passage the conclusion of the trumpet announcements and the completion of the opening of the seven seal book.

The seventh angel sounds his trumpet and great things are about to take place.

We were told previously in our study in Revelation 10:7 that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

Ask the multitudes who live upon the earth questions about God and their answers will in most cases be no answers.

Even those of us who know God, those of us who are sons of God look through a glass darkly and our vision of God is limited to what He has allowed us to see from His written Word.

Just compare the reading about someone to the seeing of someone in the flesh.

What a difference and extra revelation that can be!

But to most people God is a mystery and His involvement with mankind is even more mysterious than His invisible presence.

God is constantly questioned as to his seeming lack of attention to human suffering, sickness, sorrow, pain and death.

Does God care? is the never ending query of mankind.

Why doesn’t He use His power to prevent the trouble and evil that is so rampant upon the earth?

The answer to these questions does not come from heaven for we live in an age of a silent heaven.

But at the seventh trumpet of God that silence will be broken.

The mystery of God, hidden from most of humanity since the dawn of time, will be finished and made plain.

All the questions about God's strange dealings will then be answered.

For God is in the harvesting business.

God is in the conclusion business.

God is in the reaping business and during this Great Tribulation period things are brought to a head for we see a mass confrontation between good and evil.

The allegiance of every individual on earth will be tested by passing through the unimaginable terrors of the seven last plagues called the wrath of God which results in the overthrow of Satan and his system.

The seventh trumpet is called a Woe for it brings ultimate woe to those who love not God but to those who elect to join God and to the heavenly host who witness the cleansing of the earth, the preparing of the earth for the king of kings, it brings nothing but great joy.

For at this point the mystery of God is finished.

For: The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

And the twenty four elders fell upon their faces:

17Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

The mystery of God is finished for He has taken to himself great power and has reigned.

At this point His power will be exercised in the person of His son Jesus Christ for every eye shall see Him.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray in this manner "Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."

The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord.

The prayer of God’s son, the disciple’s prayer, our prayer, is answered here for the nations were angry but God’s wrath has quelled that anger for the nations will now bow under the authority of Jesus Christ who will reign for ever and ever.

And lastly that which takes place because of the Great Tribulation, the preparation of the way of the Lord, the making straight a highway for our God where every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill made low,

and the crooked made straight and the rough places made plain, brings into view the Lord’s intention to reward his servants the prophets, and the saints, all who fear His name both small and great.

Revelation 11:18, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Fannie Crosby, the blind but prolific hymn writer, caught this thought in her hymn:

Will Jesus Find Us Watching?

By Fannie Crosby

When Jesus comes to reward His servants,
Whether it be noon or night,
Faithful to Him will He find us watching,
With our lamps all trimmed and bright?

O can we say we are ready, brother?
Ready for the soul’s bright home?
Say, will He find you and me still watching,
Waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come?

If, at the dawn of the early morning,
He shall call us one by one,
When to the Lord we restore our talents,
Will He answer thee—"Well done"?

Have we been true to the trust He left us?
Do we seek to do our best?
If in our hearts there is naught condemns us,
We shall have a glorious rest.

Blessèd are those whom the Lord finds watching,
In His glory they shall share;
If He shall come at the dawn or midnight,
Will He find us watching there?

And when He comes with reward!

His reward is what His children have been longing for, for he brings a city whose builder and maker is God.

All his children will see King Jesus who will rule in righteousness for 1000 years.

His reward will be a new heaven and a new earth.

His saints will dwell in the Pearly White City where mansions have been prepared.

No longer will Satan’s system reign on the Earth for he will be bound in the pit and then cast into the lake of fire.

The seventh seal is open and the mystery of God is no more for He shall dwell with men.

Revelation 21:1-4, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.