Rich Realities from Revelation: The Church Must Evangelize (Rev. 11)

Rich Realities from Revelation:
The Church Must Preach the Gospel!
Revelation 11

INTRODUCTION:
In our study of Revelation, we have seen five “rich realities” so far:

#1 - Jesus is the King and High Priest who holds the churches of Christ in His hand.
#2 - Christians will be victorious if they do not compromise the gospel of Christ.
#3 - God and Christ deserve worship.
#4 - God knows (seals) those who are His.
#5 - God wants all men to repent in order to be saved.

We will not take the time to talk further about the four keys to interpreting Revelation; I invite you to listen to the first lesson on Revelation, on our website or YouTube page. Let’s get into the study itself…

A key passage to understand, by which to interpret the visions in chapter 11, is 10:8-11. John is told to take a book and to eat it. Eating the message from God is a metaphor, an emoji, taken from the book of Ezekiel when Ezekiel was commissioned as a prophet: Eat God’s message! It will taste bitter as it includes the judgment of God, His wrath and punishment on sin, but it will also taste sweet as honey in the mouth because it also includes blessings from God - forgiveness for sins and His grace and compassion.

Notice the end of chapter 10 has the seven peals of thunder saying to John, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings” (10:11). So in the middle of persecution, in the middle of being thrown into jail for preaching the gospel, in the middle of losing one’s job because the Christian is holding to his or her religious convictions, God’s message is still: Keep preaching the gospel!

With that background in mind, let’s look at chapter 11…

THE CHURCH WILL BE PERSECUTED - 11:1-2:
11:1-2 - “Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.
This first part of John’s vision is also taken from the book, the prophecy of Ezekiel, which is why we’re going to study the book of Ezekiel in our Wednesday night class beginning in August. The “measuring rod like a staff” was something like a meter stick. To “measure” something shows that you control it; you own it; it also implies protection. The “temple of God” in the NT is the church of Christ so Christians are those “who worship in it.” In the middle of persecution, God is reminding Christians that they are under God’s control; they are “owned” by God; they have God’s protection.
However, John is told not to measure the court outside the temple. This is simply a figure of speech to indicate that the church is still going to be persecuted by non-believers. That outer court was been given to the “nations,” which in Revelation refers to non-Christians. God gives non-Christians authority, power, and opportunity to persecute His followers - why? Because it tests our faith, our convictions, our willingness to love God supremely and serve our fellowman sacrificially. However, God still has that persecution under control. Non-Christians can only persecute the church for “forty-two months” - which is longer than the ten days that Christians will be thrown in jail in 2:10, but not very long. In fact, while “42 months” is an emoji that comes from the book of Daniel, it is also equivalent to 3 1/2 years, which is how long Jesus’ ministry lasted on earth, how long Satan persecuted Jesus before Satan crucified Jesus. In the next chapter, chapter 12, we’ll see that Christians’ lives are parallel to the life of Jesus on earth. Just as Satan persecuted Jesus, so Satan will persecute Christians.
BUT THE CHURCH’S “JOB” IS TO CONTINUE TO EVANGELIZE - 11:3-6:
11:3-6 - “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.”
The “two witnesses” fit God’s requirement for there to be 2-3 witnesses to testify in the court of law. Jesus, you remember, sent out His apostles in groups of two: Luke 10:1. Here, the church’s presence in the community, sharing the gospel of Christ, is pictured under the image of two witnesses sharing the gospel. They prophesy for 1,260 days, which is the same as 42 months - again, the lengthen of time Jesus also preached the truth of God. So here we have the image of the church, following the example of Christ, sharing the gospel of God throughout her history. That’s who we are; that’s what we ought to do.
John also takes another metaphor, another emoji, from the OT, this time the two olive trees from the preaching of Zechariah as well as the two lamp stands from Zechariah 4. Zechariah preached while the second temple was being rebuilt after the first one was destroyed by the Babylonians. John is preaching while the spiritual temple of God - the church of Christ - is being attacked by the Romans, whom he will picture later as the “Babylonians.” In Zechariah’s vision, the two olive trees and lamp stands symbolize the descendant of David who was governor, Zerubbabel, and the high priest, who was Joshua.
Notice in verse 5 that people want to harm God’s witnesses, the church! But, “fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies.” That reflects the power of the gospel to conquer sin and bring hearts unto obedience to Jesus Christ (Jer. 5:14). If anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed in the same way. Family, we can never run away from the power of the word of God! Paul wrote to the Romans in 16:20 that they would soon crush Satan under their feet. We just have to trust in the power of the Gospel, not change the gospel in any way, and preach and live the gospel of Christ.
In verse 6, John will use two men from the OT as emojis for the work of Christians in evangelizing. First, the reference to the “power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying” (2 Kings 1:9-16) refers to Elijah, the prophet. The church must be faithful to the message of God in our evangelizing, just like Elijah was, even as his own people were perverting the word of God. Secondly, the one who had power to turn water into blood obviously refers to Moses (Exo. 7:14-25) and striking the earth with every plague. Just as Moses stood up to Pharaoh and presented the truth of God without compromise, so the church in the first century and in our age and in every age must stay faithful to the word of God and continue to preach it and teach it!
Because that’s who the church is and that’s what we do!
DESPITE THREATS OF PERSECUTION - 11:7-14:
11:7-10 - “When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

John sees in his vision that the “beast” comes up out of the abyss. We saw the abyss in chapter 9. The “beast” is a metaphor for a hostile nation that Daniel sees in Daniel 7. There will actually be two beasts in Revelation, which will be metaphors for the Roman empire from their secular side and their spiritual side. We’ll take a look next month. So this beast makes war with God’s witnesses, the church of Christ, and the beast overcomes them and kills them. Family, there will not be a time with God’s people are not threatened with destruction by cultural forces under the control of Satan. It is simply God’s way of strengthening us and testing us to see if we love Him and His gospel supremely.

In John’s vision, the dead bodies of God’s witnesses are left to lie in the street of the great city - a designation John will use later to refer to Rome. Here, the city is “mystically” (that is, not literally) called Sodom and Egypt, and the city where the Lord was crucified, or Jerusalem. Sodom - the city which gave itself to indulging in sexual gratification and persecuted the righteous. Peter says Lot felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds (2 Pet. 2:7-8). Egypt, of course, also persecuted God’s people for hundreds of years. Jerusalem persecuted and killed Jesus Christ. All three of these places are metaphors for Rome, for the city and nation that was now persecuting God’s people.

God’s witness will lie without being buried - an extreme dishonor among ancient and modern peoples - for a short period of time - 3 1/2 days. And non-Christians will think they have won! They will rejoice over the death of God’s witnesses, the Christians, and they will celebrate. Because the two “prophets” who preached the word of God to them, were tormented. Yes, if Satan working through our culture can get the church to close its mouth, then Satan and our culture will celebrate!

But the gates of Hades did not prevail against Jesus from establishing His church (Matthew 16:18-19), and death will not stop the church of Christ from continuing to share the gospel with others! That’s the message we see in verses 11-14.
11:11-14 - “But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

The two witnesses were lying on the ground but then the breath of God, symbolizing the spirit of God, came back into them - a metaphor from Ezekiel 37! And brought them back to life. Family, it doesn’t matter what happens to us from a physical perspective, the gospel of Christ still needs to be preached and shared!

And if we lose our jobs or we lose our lives or we lose our families because we will not compromise the truth of the gospel, then we will still enjoy a resurrection! That’s the message of verse 12. We just can’t lose our faith.

Taking another image from the days of the prophet Elijah, in verse 13, we see an earthquake - the result of the church preaching the gospel of Christ - and 1/10 of the city fell and 7,000 were killed. The gospel has the power to save and to destroy. In Elijah’s day, it was the 7,000 who were unfaithful to God; in John’s day, the 7,000 symbolize those who were destroyed and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. Preaching the gospel will have positive results. There are still people out there in the world who want to be saved, who want to know Jesus Christ, who want to be just Christians and nothing more and nothing less.
According to a recent Barna Research survey, more than 75% of all Americans across all ages want to grow in their spirituality. That tells me, family, that we can have success with our neighbors and friends if we will just direct them back to the Bible. Let’s get back to the Bible. There’s never been a better time for us to live and share the gospel with others than now!

WE ARE OPTIMISTIC BECAUSE CHRIST REIGNS! - 11:15-19:
11:15-19 - “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”
We saw the six trumpets blown in chapters 8-9. Here is the seventh trumpet and Jesus reminds John, who reminds his audience that the kingdom of Christ is on earth and it will last forever! I remind you that we know the kingdom is already established; it is already on earth. John told the Christians that in 1:6, 9. So this verse is not talking about the establishment of the kingdom. John is praising God because the kingdom is already established! You remember that Daniel prophesied of the establishment of the kingdom in 2:44-45 and Daniel said that the kingdom of the Messiah would “break and consume” all the kingdoms of men! That’s John’s same message here in Revelation. And it’s John’s message for us today - nations rise and fall; they come and go; but the church of Christ, the kingdom of the Messiah will be left standing when the dust clears. That’s why men and women need to be members of that kingdom and that’s why you and I need to share the gospel with others.
Take home message: We need to be continually sharing the gospel with others; let’s not allow the culture to dictate that we keep our mouths closed!