Sermon notes from Sunday 4 November 2018 am
Revelation 11 verses 1 - 14
The commentators all agree that this is one of the most difficult chapters in the word of God. Let us get our eyes and minds on these 2 witnesses. The God of heaven who is watching over the 2 witnesses. God is their refuge and strength and help. In 1948 Israel became a state and one day God will take up his dealings with that nation. We can hardly more than take it in what will happen on this earth in a coming day. Never a day like this before nor will there ever be a day like it again. Jesus himself said there is coming a day which will be so evil on this earth. The first 3 verses tell us about the temple being built in Jerusalem once again during this Tribulation period. Verse 3 "I will give power unto my 2 witnesses." Some commentators take this picture as of the church who will go through the Tribulation period and take this passage to confirm it. Paul tells us the church will come out before this comes into being.
The arrival of these 2 witnesses on the scene - verse 3 "I will give power unto my 2 witnesses." They are there at this time of the great Tribulation period. They are there to take a stand for God in this terrible period. In verse 10 when the 2 witnesses are killed "they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them." They will see their dead bodies in the street and rejoice over their deaths. Such is the climate that these 2 men are living in and are facing. "I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." The total number of 360 days equates to a period of 3 1/2 years. The antichrist comes to the fore in the 3 1/2 years then he takes over in the second half of the 7 year period and reigns when all evil seems to be let loose on the earth. God still has his 2 men. God never leaves without a witness. These 2 men have a message still to be preached on the streets of Jerusalem. Think of Daniel when the decree is issued that no man should worship anyone but the king himself. Daniel was one of the children carried into captivity in Babylon and brought into the king`s palace. He was given all the best meat and drink available. Daniel purposed in himself that he would not defile himself with this food and drink. He made a stand at that point in his life. Now many years later his purpose is still the same. He would rather face the lions in the den than submit himself to the king. His 3 friends would rather face the fiery furnace than submit to the kings command. We are living in coldness, apathy, men going away from the faith, living for themselves. God is still calling a people today, one or 2 who will stand faithful to God, to his ways. This passage of scripture, may be difficult for us but encouraging. These 2 men would stand for God even in difficult times in Jerusalem proclaiming God in all his fulness. Times of that ministry and how it is described. The "great city" is Jerusalem but spiritually it is called Sodom. Standing for God against this atmosphere of Sodom. Genesis shows that in Sodom it was an awful city, all the sexuality that was rampant. God brought judgment to that city. Today we see a society that is turning from the word of God. This city had the spirit of Egypt, a nation given over to idolatry, the worship of idols was the order of the day but God does not want us to make our own judgements on this spirit of Satan and Egypt but also where our Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is being spoken of here. This is the arrival of the 2 witnesses.
The activity of these 2 witnesses - they shall prophesy verse 3. They will be clothed in sackcloth, they are going to make known the things of God and the ways of God. Look at the comparison here to our day. We think it is hard today, to talk about Christ but that will be nothing compared to the day shown here in this chapter. These 2 prophets witnessed in Jerusalem. In chapter 9 the demon spirits released from the bottomless pit, so evil, devious, vicious, not allowed to roam the earth waiting for the day of judgement, kept in chains. Imagine the demon in the man of Gedarenes. There were a 1000 demons in him. He lived among the tombs. The people tried to chain him, tried to do the best for him but he ripped them asunder when the devil stirred him up. They were allowed to roam but what about those not allowed to roam, put into the pit. There is coming a day when the key is given to the enemy and he will open the pit. Every demon will be allowed to roam on that day. Jude 1 verse 6. 2 Peter 2 verse 4 "For if God spared not the angels that sinned but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgement." God never leaves himself without a witness. God gave them power to do so. There is a great dispute and much has been written about these 2 witnesses to try and put a name on them. God covers this by not telling us that. There are those who think they are Moses and Elijah. One relates to the law and the other to the prophets. They were there on the Day of Transfiguration with Christ on the mountain top. Others have their own views. Doesn`t matter at this point. We cannot be sure who they were - could be Enoch and Elijah, 2 men who never died yet the Bible says "it is appointed unto man once to die." These 2 men have not fulfilled that verse. We see that they have power to shut heaven that it rained not. Verse 6 similar to Elijah in his own day when he went into Ahab. They can bring plagues - speaking of Moses and time of the plagues. They were hated in these days of Revelvation. Here they were willing to stand out from the crowd. Are we willing to stand out from the crowd? They were laughed at and ridiculed. Men too say things about us. Do we just want to go with the flow? Take Christianity but not too far with it. People believe that Jesus died to save us and we are all ok even though have never applied it within their own personal lives. Paul said "that I may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2 verse 15)
The authority of the 2 witnesses - verse 3 "I will give power unto my 2 witnesses." God doesn`t end until he equips. If we have a task to do God will equip us. God says "I will give them power to stand, to preach and to live. Verse 4 the candlestick needs oil to light and keep on glowing. Olive trees supply that oil for the 2 candlesticks. We need to be filled with the spirit of God. We need help from within. The referenece to olive trees comes from Zechariah 4 verse 2. We cannot will something into being. You cannot will someone to be saved. Pray and let God work in them. Verse 5 "if any man hurt them I will put them to death." Nothing will be allowed to come against them. Verse 10 many would love to have seen them off the face of the earth. In Philippians 4 verse 13 Paul says "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Maybe if we had asked if these 2 men would go out and preach on the streets of Jerusalem, they would probably have said they couldn`t do it. God will give us the strength we need to face each and every day. In his strength go and he will give you power today. Paul stood in chains before the magistrates and yet could say "I can do all things through Christ." Maybe we haven`t come to that place where Paul came to on the road to Damascus when he said "Lord what wilt thou have me to do." Peter was given a specific task to go to Cornelius. God was asking him to do something against his will and nature. God had Peter on the rooftop. He was hungry and praying. The Lord sent down a sheet of all manner of beasts on it. God told him to rise and eat. Peter said "not so Lord." God would show him that he could go into Cornelius` house and preach Christ to him. He would be ridiculed for it, brought before the people of God for doing it but Peter knew it was God`s will for him to take this stand. These 2 witnesses stood firm for the witness of Christ. Are we prepared to stand against the evil of the land, friendships of others who take us away from God?
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