Revelation 11:15-19

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.’

“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

Last week we talked about the resurrection of the two witnesses and how the ensuing earthquake helped some of the people in Jerusalem see God in the right way and begin to glorify Him. Death is a feared end for all mankind. Some will come to death painfully, some will slip away in their sleep, some will fight a long drawn out battle with a disease, and some will come to it suddenly. Those of us that know the Lord understand that death is a door into the new life beyond, a life without pain, failure, sin or disappointments. Most of us that know the Lord are not afraid to die; we are fearful of death and the way that we will go.

Recently I had a dear friend die after a long battle with disease; his body was wrecked with diabetes and he had to have some of his extremities removed. Another acquaintance went to sleep one night and never woke up. Two very different paths, but both woke up in Heaven and in the presence of the Lord.

We are told in Luke 19:22 that angels carried the beggar Lazarus to the Paradise called Abraham’s Bosom. If these two men were met and carried the same way, oh what an awesome experience! Death would be immediately forgotten and the wonder of the next life begins. The death and resurrection of the two witnesses is a reminder, as is the resurrection of many others in the Bible, that life actually begins at the grave for those of us that know Jesus.

When is the last time that you wrote a song for the Lord? There are many in the scriptures. In Exodus 15 we find Mariam singing a song to celebrate the crossing of the Red Sea. In Deuteronomy 32 we find the Song of Moses. The book of Psalms is actually a collection of songs. We sing hymns or contemporary songs written by men and women down through the ages; it would appear that worship, God’s greatness and the need to write and sing songs go hand in hand. I encourage you to write a song or a poem about the Lord’s goodness and majesty in your life; I bet there is a lot for you to say.

The Kingdoms are All His Forever, Revelation 11:15

In Matthew 4 we find Jesus being tempted by Satan. In Revelation 11:8-9 we find this temptation:

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’”

Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the earth if He would turn and worship Satan. Jesus, of course, refuses, and the devil leaves Him for a time. I am sure that there was other testing, and temptations. We are told in Hebrews 4 that Jesus was tempted in ALL points as we are, yet he never sinned.

In Revelation 11:15 we find that the kingdoms of the world become Jesus’ Kingdom. Unlike Satan, Jesus, God in the flesh, knows the end from the beginning; and so He knew that He was going to get the kingdoms of the world given to Him by God the Father, so He did not have to betray His loyalties.

Often when we are tempted by our own lusts and fleshliness, it is that we are impatient and wanting what we want now and are not simply trusting God that He will give us every good thing in His time, for His glory and our edification. Jesus simply trusted God’s promise and that He would do what was promised.

This day had come. Jesus got the kingdoms of the world handed back to Him by God the Father. This is clearly stated in verse 15. Notice that they are His forever and ever. This is how it will be from here on out.

For a short period in God’s time, Satan had control over the kingdoms of the world. This control was seeded to him by Adam in his sin in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, upon His death, burial and resurrection began the process of redeeming the earth to Himself.

First, we, the Gentile church were redeemed, then there were Tribulation saints, and then the process of redeeming Israel is just beginning. With that came the redemption of the earth’s kingdoms. They would no longer be ruled by Satan and his minions, including the antichrist, whose days are numbered from here on out in the Revelation.

Jesus created the whole universe, and now He will begin to remodel the marred creation. For about the next 1,000 years, Jesus will rule over the kingdoms of the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem, fulfilling a promise that God made to David personally but was made to the tribe of Judah in Genesis 49:10,

“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet.”

The Song of the Elders, Revelation 11:16-18

God loves worship. He loves when His people humble themselves and worship. God is a God of music; He invented music. He invented music for worship, for praise, for comfort and just about everything that comes under the sun. Listen to birds chirping away in the summer, listen to frogs in the marshes calling out, listen to the sound of bees around the flowers and you can see that there is a music to creation.

In Ezekiel 28:13-14 we see that Lucifer had beautiful “tabrets and pipes,” referring to his ability to create music. He was the chosen angel, a cherub – from what we understand, a ruling angel like Michael and Gabriel, and music was his thing given to him from the Lord. Now, of course, Satan uses music to teach lies and disobedience to the Lord.

There is no such thing as ‘neutral music.’ It is either glorifying God or it is detracting from Him.

These 24 elders spring into song at the declaration from verse 15. This song tells us that God is Almighty; that judgment is coming to the living and the dead – there will be rewards for His servants and for those that feared (honored and revered) His name no matter who you were, and harsh judgment for those that destroy His earth. This is a short but deep song.

Songs do not have to be long to be powerful, and there is nothing wrong with repetition. The Psalms are full of repetition. The songs of God should be sung with gusto, with energy, with love and adoration, and with reverent fear. Some songs are songs of sorrow; but even at a funeral the saved can sing with gusto, for death has been killed by Jesus.

True worship songs are filled with doctrine; they teach and extol the attributes and power of the Lord. They remind of the judgment and they recite to us the truth of the scriptures.

In the introduction I asked you if you had ever written a song to the Lord. Every now and then around the Valentine’s season, our church will do a time called ‘Love Songs to the Saviour,’ and I encourage our church people to write poems, song and stories to the Lord about His goodness and power in their lives. You should try this some time. Begin to write down the wonders of the Lord’s majesty, power, presence and place in your life. Write the Lord a love poem or love song. We are called to love the Lord with all of our hearts, body and minds. This practice may help you to see more clearly the wonders of the Lord and spark even more confidence in Him.

These elders sing this song of praise to the Lord and worship Him. They understand who is God and who is not. The antichrist and his people on earth are about to find out who the true God of the universe is, and they are about to see Jesus take over the earth and take what is rightfully His.

The Temple in Heaven, Revelation 11:19

The Temple on earth is fashioned after the Temple in Heaven. Over the course of the Revelation, we have seen various aspects of the Temple area in Heaven. We see God on His throne in Rev. 4:5; we see an altar in Rev. 6:9; and here we see the Holy of Holies where the heavenly Ark of the Covenant dwells. The temple is opened, and we can see into the Holiest of places in the Temple. The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s presence, atonement and covenant with His people.

On the Day of Atonement, on the 10^th day of the 7^th month, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies with a basin of blood and offer the annual atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. In Leviticus 16:29-34 we find these instructions:

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance.

“The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.’ And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

I encourage you to read the whole of chapter 16 in Leviticus. This is what the Lord Jesus did for us. He is our blood sacrifice that atones for our sins. He is our scapegoat and at the same time our High Priest. Only the perfect God/Man could be both at the same time. Oh, what a mighty God we serve! We get these little glimpses of what heaven will look like, and we can just imagine what awaits us and the glory that we will see and experience.

The opening of the Temple is accompanied by thunder, lightning, noises, earthquakes and great hail. The Day of the Lord is soon coming. Are you ready?

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

 

Revelation 11: 7-14

“When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

“Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

Thank you for your emails. I have received extra insights from many of you who have offered extra websites, more information, more lessons and observations, helping me to learn more and to grow. Some have simply thanked me for the lessons, some may disagree on some things; but it is done in a loving way, and I appreciate that. I have not arrived, so to speak, when studying the scriptures. There is much more for me to learn; and as I read through the entire Bible cover to cover again, I see more and more things, I get more and more questions, and I see the majesty of God displayed in the minute details.

A few weeks ago, we talked about the two views of the Gospel. To the saved it is a joyous thing, but to the lost, the Gospel is painful. It brings them sadness, makes them defensive and – as we are seeing today – they begin to lash out at the messengers. Part of the power of the Gospel is the promise of the resurrection. Without it, the Gospel has no power and offers no hope. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, the Apostle Paul opens our eyes to the absolute power and necessity of the resurrection:

“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Without it, the Gospel is lacking in power, lacking in hope and lacking in anything good. Death is already guaranteed to all men; we are born dying. What makes the Gospel so powerful is that it promises that death is not the end, but a door to whole new and better life. I just recently had a dear friend die. He was a pastor, a husband, a father, a teacher and a very, very funny man. His last few years were not good; his body was destroyed by diabetes and his health just deteriorated. But he is with the Lord now, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering. If we do not have this hope, we are pitiful.

Today we will see a resurrection. The Bible is filled with them. From Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37) and Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) raising children from the dead; to a man who was dead and being buried coming back to life when his body touched the bones of Elisha (2 Kings 13:21); to Jesus raising a young man (Luke 7:11-17); to the story of Lazarus in John 11; to Paul raising a young man in Acts 20:7-12; and Paul himself coming back from the dead in the account given to us in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4.

The Bible is filled with mere men being resurrected, not just the account of Jesus’ resurrection. This is what scares our enemies; people who truly believe in the resurrection are not worried about death. People who know that angels will escort them to heaven upon death are emboldened to stand up for what they believe. This is the power of the promised resurrection.

When they finished, Revelation 11:7

These two witnesses cried out against Israel and the working of the antichrist for about 3.5 years. No one could harm them. They simply killed everyone who came near to do them harm. But when they were finished, then they were able to be killed. The Apostle Paul makes a similar observation in the New Testament; in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Paul states that he knows he is about to die:

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

There are some cases in this life where even as saved people we can do something to hasten our deaths. But in general, we will die when our course or our work is finished. God has a plan for your life and mine; and when that plan is over, we die. We go home. Then we are judged on our faithfulness and obedience. Death is assured; it is living for the Lord faithfully that takes some determination and effort. It takes a choice on our part to humble ourselves and let the Lord have the glory.

These two men, these witnesses, did their jobs; they did them right up until the moment when they died. You and I should have the same determination. Let us enter eternity spent for the Lord. The Apostle Paul said that he was ‘poured out,’ referring to the drink offering from the Old Testament that was poured at the foot of the altar. Paul was used up for the Lord; he left nothing in it for himself, and he had finished the race. We need to finish our races.

The beast makes war and wins, Revelation 11:7

Some think that the beast is most likely Satan that comes out of the attack of these two men. In Revelation 9:11 we are introduced to another angel from the bottomless pit; but this particular beast seems to be special and powerful. Since the antichrist is on the ground there in Jerusalem, it is very possible that Satan equips him with the tools necessary to kill these men. But we know that they are dead because God has allowed it; they have finished their testimony.

You see, we as spirit-filled readers who have trusted in the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus, can not only see the narrative of the scripture; we can see the wonderful mysteries as well. The beast makes war and seemingly prevails, much to the delight of the world that can see all of this live online from all corners of the world. But we know that his rejoicing is temporary. The true power of death and life is not in the devil; it is with the Lord God who first breathed life in the first man, Adam. The world, as we will see, rejoices over death, but we wait for the resurrection.

Rejoicing in Jerusalem, Revelation 11:8-10

Jerusalem erupts with rejoicing over the death of these two witnesses. We have two names given for Jerusalem here: Sodom and Egypt. And God confirms that He is talking about Jerusalem by telling us that it is the city where Jesus was crucified. Sodom, of course, brings to mind the sinful acts of homosexuality and sexual perversion. If one were to take the time to read through the book of 2 Kings and then both volumes of the Chronicles, you would see that the ‘evil’ kings permitted male temple prostitutes in the city of Jerusalem as they pursued the pagan gods of their enemies. Sodomy was rampant in the city of Jerusalem; it was open and promoted by the evil kings and their leaders. How horrible this was for the Lord to have to see.

Even today in national capitals, the rapid growth of sodomy in and amongst our politicians is scary to say the least. Over the past few days, I have begun to find out about the rampant sodomy in the music world. How many of the prominent men are actually gay? Sometimes, the women they are seen with are just “props for show.” The growth and acceptance of sodomy in the TV industry is evident. One cannot see a TV show that does not incorporate a homosexual or lesbian character. It seems that one cannot get ahead unless you are gay, lesbian or both. Even in politics we see openly gay leaders being elected by the masses.

Jerusalem is also called Egypt, a remembrance of oppression and slavery. This is a sad commentary. Jerusalem was supposed to be the light of freedom to the world. They had the Gospel from the Old Testament, the Law that showed the reader that they needed a Savior. No one except Jesus could ever keep the law to the nth degree. Jesus did. The law drove us to put our faith in the God of the law.

Later in the New Testament era, the local church began in Jerusalem. The first men to carry the Gospel were Jews. But over the millennia they had perverted the Gospel and added manmade rules to the freedoms that God gave. The Gospel became a slave master rather than a bastion of freedom. Even at the end, Jerusalem has gone back to the Law, opened a new temple, and settled for a counterfeit savior in the antichrist; they were still enslaving the world.

This great city is the center for the global celebration over the death of these two witnesses. It is like Christmas as they send gifts from all over the world. They won’t even let their bodies be buried; the whole world watches their bodies. If it is in the summer, the heat will begin to cause their decomposition, and no one will have the dignity to bury them. Let this sink in as to the depth of the depravity of the world system at the time of these events.

The system of the antichrist hates the truth, and the people of the world are so sold under the lies that they too hate the truth.

Notice the word that is used; they describe these two men as ‘tormenting’ them. How do you torment people with words? We are beginning to see this right before our eyes. We, the truth speakers, are being asked not to speak the truth. The truth has become offensive. The truth is being outlawed in some places in North America, the very last safe haven for free speech. We cannot allow a little thing like the truth to get in the way of the global agenda. While the sheep are trying to figure out if the men are women and vice versa, the globalist wolves can take away their freedoms in the name of tolerance; and the masses are too preoccupied to stop it.

So, the whole world celebrates that these intolerant truth speakers are dead. Let us be faithful to the call like the two witnesses. Let us give the father of lies a reason to celebrate our deaths. Speak the truth at all costs.

The Resurrection, Revelation 11:11-14

Right in the middle of the celebrations, about 3.5 days into them, the Lord gives these men the breath of life and they get up. I cannot imagine how loud the global gasp or the global silence will be when they stand up. The fear that will grip the people will be measurable. I suspect there will be a lot of heart attacks at that time. Then, to follow that up, the whole world will hear a loud voice telling them to “come up here,” and then they fly up to heaven for the whole world to see.

This will be a slap to the ego and the power of the antichrist. He will be celebrating the death and then be dismayed at the resurrection. This will be a reminder to Satan that he is not, nor will he ever be god. He does not have the power to give and take life, and then give it again. Hopefully this will bring him right back to that day at Calvary some 2,000 years ago when the kingdom of darkness thought that they had won, only to see the tomb open and Jesus walk out three days later. This time there is a whole world watching, and the power and majesty of the True and Living God will be on display.

At the very moment that these men are called into heaven, there is an earthquake; and a tenth of the city of Jerusalem is destroyed, killing 7,000 people. Then the whole city of Jerusalem begins to give glory to the God of heaven. The days of the antichrist are numbered, and the tide begins to turn for the antichrist and his minions. His short-lived fame as the leader or the one who killed the two witnesses is quickly forgotten, and he is no longer a god; BUT the God of heaven is worshipped.

The word ‘glory’ means ‘to give the right opinion of’ in its root sense. The people of Jerusalem begin to see God the right way; they begin to have the right opinion of God. Now, let us be cautious; this is a very emotional time – and even if some are glorifying God – it does not always mean a genuine repentance, but it is a beginning. A few chapters ago they were defiant and cursing God.

What will it take for you to finally come to the point of glorifying God? What will the good Lord have to do to bring you to the humility that is needed to glorify Him? The Lord loves you, and He will do all He can to bring you to repentance, but the current age of grace is coming to an end. The time to be saved is now. Tomorrow may be too late.

Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca