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The Tribulation Part 7: A Scroll, Two Witnesses, and a Trumpet Blast
So far, In Parts 5 and 6 we have been following the trumpet judgments as they strike the planet with unprecedented fury. Blow after blow has struck rebellious mankind, yet in spite of it all, he still will not repent of his evil.We await the blast of the final trumpet, but it is delayed for a bit while John relays this scene to us:
“I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them” (Revelation 10:1-4, NASB)
John sees an angel: but this is no ordinary angel. This one is described as "mighty" and his appearance is impressive. Clothed with a cloud, his head was ringed by a rainbow. Some teach that this is a vision of Christ coming to Earth, but keep in mind that when John describes Christ, he never leaves it ambiguous; John uses titles such as "Alpha and Omega" to describe Him. This angel is very important, as his feet stand upon the land and the sea, and indicates that what he has to say will affect the "land" (Israel) as well as the "sea" (Gentiles). His face shines in glory, and a rainbow is a reminder of God's promise to the Earth.
The interlude between trumpets serves as a place for the Lord to remind those watching (reader and participant) that He alone is in control of all of this. All these judgments are from his hand, and are not at the behest of Satan. ALL of the Tribulation is his wrath, and not just the Bowl Judgments, as some believe.
The seven thunders: in Scripture, thunder often indicates judgment (1 Samuel 2:10, 2 Samuel 22:14, and Revelation Chapters 8:5, 11:19, 16:18). Thunder also is shown in Scripture as the voice of God (Revelation 4:5); while the number seven is also indicative of the Lord God. That the seven thunders are described as “voices” could mean it is not just God the Father speaking, but perhaps the entire Godhead each speaking in turn. The word used in the Greek for “thunder” is the word bronté (Strong’s 1027), which means “thunder” and “to roar”. Given all of this, the scene describes God in heaven uttering roaring judgment against the rebellious earth. But just as John is about to write, a singular voice from heaven tells him to “Seal up the words” and “do not write them”.
They are the only words in Revelation that are still sealed.
“Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:5-7, NASB)
The angel swears an oath before the Lord and the Earth, promising everyone "there will be no more delay." God is about to reveal His secret, His "mystery" and lay bare what He has hidden for so long. In other words, God wasn't waiting any longer: His plan was ready to proceed to its final phase, and all would be revealed.
He is going to hold NOTHING back.
"Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” (Revelation 10:8-11, NASB)
We are not told what the scroll says, but we are told that it is small enough for John to eat. A voice from Heaven (most likely God) instructs John to take it and eat it. As he does so, the angel tells him it will taste sweet like honey, but give him a sour stomach. Now, being that people normally don't eat scrolls, we infer that this is symbolic. The clue to the scroll's contents lies within the last verse of chapter 10: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings" The scroll is the judgments of the Tribulation and how God's plan will transpire. When John eats it (taking it in), it is sweet, as we discover that the Lord is indeed bringing his kingdom to the planet and putting an end to evil. But upon "digesting" it (discerning it's meaning and contemplating it) we realize the "bitterness" that must take place, as billions die in the cataclysmic judgments that pound the Earth. We also learn that John was to "prophesy again about many nations, languages and kings”. Given that John was buried not on Patmos, but in Ephesus, his life wouldn’t end on Patmos; if it had, then we would not have had the Book of Revelation!
"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. “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." (Revelation 11:1-6, NASB)
We come to a scene similar to what Ezekiel was asked to do; only it is John doing the measuring of the temple and not an angel as Ezekiel chapter 40 records. It is called the "temple of God", but John is told to exclude the outer court, because it was given to the gentiles. This indicates it is not God's temple in Heaven, but the temple on Earth in Jerusalem; the third temple that is yet to be built. We are then told that they would trample the holy city for a period of 42 months. 42 months works out to 3-1/2 years; this is one half of the seven-year period that the Tribulation is allotted. And the time given to the two witnesses also works out to 3-1/2 years.
But what is the purpose of the Two Witnesses?
In addition to the 144,000 that God has sealed in order to witness to the world, He will send these two individuals to testify to the planet of the Lord. They will have the power to keep it from raining and to turn water into blood, not to mention striking the world with plagues at will (remember: the planet is already being struck with all sorts of judgments, and the witnesses have the ability to make it even WORSE). Given this kind of power, their purpose is to get the attention of Israel and the entire planet and point them to the Lord. But sadly, it is this power to cause plagues, stop rain and turn water to blood, that will earn them the utter hatred of the entire planet. Add to that the fact that they will be preaching the word of God Almighty to those that don't want to hear it, means that these two men will be targeted by the entire world. People will want to kill them on sight.
But God has planned for it:
"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." (Revelation 11:5, NASB)
These two witnesses will not simply preach hellfire; they will literally SPEW it at anyone who tries to harm them.
"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 thee." (Revelation 11:7-10, NASB)
At the end of their testimony though, they will be killed. And in an ultimate show of disrespect and a major slap in the face of the Lord, they will be allowed to sit unburied in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 an half days. We infer this from the verse, which describes the city as where Christ was crucified. Jerusalem is described as being "Sodom and Egypt", spiritually. Sodom evokes hedonism and rampant sin; Egypt denotes bondage and slavery. Jerusalem is at this point a slave to sin, and is bound in it.
On that note: with the murder of the two witnesses, people around the world rejoice, so much so that they act as if it's the holidays and send gifts to one another in celebration! Also mentioned is the fact that people all across the world will be able to "see" the witnesses' bodies in the streets as they lay there. It's pretty well a given that with today’s smart phones, tablets and other portable computing tech, that will easily be possible. Nowadays, people can also send each other gifts simply by selecting them online and paying for them, all from their cellular devices.
But the celebration will not last long...
"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." (Revelation 11: 11:14, NASB)
Just as the world thinks it safe to rejoice, God has the final say and resurrects his two witnesses. This causes sheer panic and terror throughout the world, broadcasted by the same devices that allowed them to celebrate it just a few days prior! To further answer their insult by not burying the witnesses' bodies, God brings them to Heaven in a cloud as the world watches. Once they are safely in Heaven, God strikes Jerusalem with a quake that drops a tenth of the city around the people and kills 7,000 people in one shot.
Needless to say, those that survive probably won't think it was a good idea to kill the two witnesses afterwards, as they end up giving glory to the Lord.
Now, as far as the identities of the two witnesses are concerned: A lot of folks have theories and speculation on who it could be, with Moses and Elijah being amongst the top contenders. Not only am I going to refrain from even trying to guess their identities, but I discourage others from trying to do so either. The reason: their purpose is not concerning anything to do with themselves, but to draw attention to the Lord. By focusing on them, we don't see what God is doing in this matter. I think that if we were to ask them directly, they would say the same thing: they are but servants of the Lord, and it isn't important who they are. What is important is what they preach.
And finally, it happens...
The Seventh Trumpet sounds:
"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." (Revelation 11:15-19, NASB)
With the final trumpet, voices in Heaven proclaim that the Earth is now the Lord's. The elders in the throne room fall down in worship, praising God for what he has done, and for what he is about to do. The temple in Heaven opens its doors, and the Ark of the Covenant is visible to all who look inside. Nothing was hidden away, but was in plain sight of all. Meanwhile, on Earth, the planet suffers yet another earthquake, with lightning, thunder and rumbling across the heavens. Another hailstorm pelts the planet, causing even more destruction in its wake.
So what does “The kingdom of the world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” mean?
With the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet, the final series of judgments against Planet Earth concerning sin (the Bowl Judgments) would commence very soon. Those judgments would finish the wrath of god, and begin his plan for the planet that would see His Messiah (Jesus Christ) take His rightful seat as the sole and true Ruler of the World for the next 1000 years. Satan’s grasp on the planet is at this point all but removed, and Satan, while still in control of the world system, is no longer is control of the planet. The previous 14 judgments demonstrate clearly that God Almighty alone has control, and the planet responds now to Him alone.
And He is NOT being nice about it.
This is the third woe.
Something to keep in mind here: the Seal Judgments affected 1/4 of the planet, and the trumpet Judgments affected 1/3, which is a substantially larger part of the world. Needless to say, millions of people have died by this time, and more are yet to perish as the coming Bowl Judgments await being poured upon the globe.
In the next part, we will see a war in heaven.
I bid you all peace.
YBIC,
-Sojo414
