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Grace & Peace: Revelation 74

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”
Revelation 11:7-10

We now have the first mention of a beast in Revelation. In Scripture, beasts are persecuting political powers. In the popular mind, the beast and the antichrist are the same nefarious figure at the end of the world—but they are really quite distinct. A modern beast would be a figure like Stalin or Mao. A modern antichrist would be a false teacher . . . a mild liberal theologian who denies the Incarnation.

This beast ascends out of the Abyss, showing that his political force and authority are given to him by the underworld. He attacks the two witnesses, but is only allowed to do this after they have “finished their testimony.” With regard to the preceding verses, I argued that these were not two literal witnesses, but rather represented the chain of prophets throughout the Old Testament era. They came in the spirit and power of Moses and Elijah. Part of the reason for not taking them as two literal prophets can be found in the wording of this section. First, it says that the beast “makes war” against them. This is an odd expression if we are talking about two men. Wars occur between armies. And second, in verses 8-9, the expression their dead bodies occurs three times. In the first two of these instances, the literal expression is singular—their dead body. This would indicate some sort of corporate body.

They testify for a long time—three and a half years. Their enemies exult over their dead bodies for a short time—three and a half days. The city where they died is identified as Jerusalem—where the Lord was crucified. Jerusalem is the graveyard of prophets. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee” (Matt. 23:37a). But graveyard is not quite the right expression because in this instance the malevolence of the God-haters is seen in how they deny burial to the witnesses, and how they rejoice and make merry over their death.

The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God.The book of Revelation is about the divorce and final putting away of Jerusalem. God’s rejection of her can be seen in the language used. This city, the city where Jesus was crucified, can be identified with her true spiritual names—that is, Sodom and Egypt. The once beautiful city had not just undergone mission drift, but rather mission reversal. The people of God had become the anti-people of God. Israel is identified with Sodom in the Old Testament (Is. 1:10). And here in Revelation, the plagues of Egypt were rained down upon Israel (Rev. 8:6-12; 16:2-12)

Spite and vindictiveness are the hallmark of persecutors. They would not allow the witnesses to be buried, and they rejoiced over their carcasses. Unfortunately, this kind of malice has not been unknown in the history of the church. The ashes of Huss were thrown in the Lake of Constance. The bones of Wycliff were dug up and thrown into the river. The book of Revelation was largely fulfilled in the first century, but the fundamental spiritual realities have not changed.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 73

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And 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. These 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.”
Revelation 11:3-6

Biblical law requires at least two witnesses before a condemnation, and here, before Jerusalem is finally condemned, the requisite two witnesses are brought forward. The identity of these witnesses has long been disputed and discussed, and this contribution to the discussion is offered with that awareness.

That said, I take these witnesses to represent all the prophets of Israel. The Lord taught us that the guilt of the old covenant era was cumulative. “From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation” (Luke 11:51). The Lord said this, speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, which is our topic here. The two witnesses are dressed in sackcloth, which denotes a message of woe and the need for repentance. That matches the narrative as well.

The two witnesses have miraculous powers, as did the prophets of old, and their powers echo the powers of Moses and Elijah, the two who visited with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses turned water to blood, and he struck the earth with all manner of plagues. Elijah called down fire from the sky that consumed the men who had come to arrest him, and he shut up the heavens so that a fierce drought came upon Ahab’s Israel. Moses and Elijah also represent for us the Law and the Prophets.

All of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem.In addition, the two olive trees and two candlesticks are intended to make us think of Zerubbabel and Joshua (Zech. 4:2-14). These two men were true servants of God, serving Him in the civil and religious spheres respectively. In the same way, throughout the Old Testament not only did prophets come out of the wilderness, like Elijah, but they also wielded civic, political power, like Moses and David. And all of them, considered together, were ignored by the establishment in Jerusalem. Their works of power were ignored, and their powerful words were ignored. “Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them” (Jer. 5:14).

These two men prophesy for 1,260 days, the same period of time that sees the holy city trampled on by the Gentiles. I take this as a picture of the final prophetic culmination. “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). They were not persuaded when Jesus rose, as the prophets had said, and neither were they persuaded when they died . . . also as the prophets had said.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 72

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
Revelation 11:1–2

John is given a reed to use in measuring, and the first thing we should think of is how a man is given a measuring rod in Ezekiel (40-47) to measure the Temple in the vision there. John is told to measure three things—the Holy of Holies (the word is naos), the altar, and those who worship there. This measuring is a device for indicating separation, dividing those who will be protected in the calamity to come from those who will not be protected. The measuring is intended to mark out those who are genuine worshipers of God.

But John is told not to measure outside the Temple. This is a curious expression because the open court outside the Temple was specifically named the Court of the Gentiles. The way the Jewish hierarchy had set up a market there for selling clean animals (which represented Jews), thereby supplanting Gentiles, was one of the charges Jesus had leveled against them when He cleansed the Temple. “And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Mark 11:17). And when Solomon had dedicated the Temple, he had specifically carved out a place for Gentiles (1 Kings 8:41-43). It was given over to them in this judgment, but it was a place that should have been theirs all along.

The measuring indicated that true Jews and false Jews were going to be distinguished in the judgment that was about to fall. The outer court was going to be turned over to the Gentiles (to whom it belonged), and their time to be measured was not yet. That would come.

“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).

Another important clue is given to us in these verses. The Gentiles will trample on the holy city for forty-two months. This is a time period familiar to readers of Scripture, and in this section of Revelation it is referred to in three different ways. It is called “forty-two months,” “twelve hundred and sixty days,” and “a time, times, and half a time.” In short, we are talking about three and half years. This is the time that Daniel had said that Antiochus Epiphanes would defile the Temple (Dan. 7:25). It is how long Elijah was used to bring about a drought in Israel (1 Kings 17-18; Jas. 5:17). And this mention kicks off a flurry of references in Revelation. The Gentiles will tread down Jerusalem for this time (Rev. 11:2). The two witnesses will testify for this period of time (Rev. 11:3). The woman pursued by the dragon is chased for this time (Rev. 12:6, 14). The beast will blaspheme for this long (Rev. 13:5).

This is an important time anchor for us, one that will help us unravel what John is talking about. After Nero had a big part of the city of Rome burned, suspicion that he was behind it fell on him. He deflected it by blaming the Christians, and so the first Roman persecution broke out—in November of A.D. 64. That persecution ended when Nero was forced to commit suicide in a coup, which happened in June A.D. 68. This was forty-two months later. The first great persecution of the saints by Rome happened in fulfillment of John’s words. And there is another possible fulfillment. While the overlap was not complete, there was some overlap. The war between Jerusalem and Rome also lasted for approximately that same period of time.

This interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets is a pause before the calamitous judgment of A.D. 70 falls upon Jerusalem.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 71

Ben Zornes on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (Revelation 10:8–11).

John hears a voice from heaven again, which instructs him to go up to the angel who is straddling earth and sea. When he gets there, he is supposed to take the little open book from the hand of the great angel. And so John obediently approached the angel and said, “Give me the little book.” Given that the angel was immense, the fact that John could take the book and eat it means that it must have truly been tiny compared to the size of the angel.

What happens here is a precise parallel to what happened to Ezekiel. That ancient prophet was addressing the destruction of Jerusalem (also), as accomplished by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness” (Eze. 3:1–3).

The bitterness that John experienced is mentioned a few verses later in Ezekiel.

“So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me” (Eze. 3:14).

This combination of sweetness and bitterness means that a message of judgment must be both.This combination of sweetness and bitterness means that a message of judgment must be both. The sweetness lies in the vindication of God’s servants. The martyrs under the altar will have their prayer answered. The persecutors will be utterly thrown down. Justice will be done, and the saints of God will say hallelujah. The only time that word is used in the New Testament is some chapters ahead of us in Revelation, when the saints exult in the fact that the smoke of Babylon ascends forever and ever (Rev. 19:3). But at the same time, we remember (also from Ezekiel) that considered in isolation, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Eze. 33:11). As a stand-alone reality, the stubborn willfulness of the rebel is a genuine tragedy. It is not a tragedy that God will allow them to use in order to emotionally blackmail those who do rejoice in the will of God, but it is a tragedy nonetheless.

The stubborn willfulness of the rebel is a genuine tragedy. It is not a tragedy that God will allow them to use in order to emotionally blackmail those who do rejoice in the will of God, but it is a tragedy nonetheless.We see in this passage that John is not just a simple observer. He is told that eating the book, tasting its sweetness, and having his stomach turned by the bitter results of the message, means that he, John, must prophesy again. This book eaten means that John is the prophet.

The book of Revelation continues as a condemnation of the city of Jerusalem, but we see here that the fall of the old system has ramifications for the whole world—the message is for “many peoples, nations, and tongues, and kings.” And this what the destruction of Jerusalem would facilitate—a gospel for the whole world.

Remember that the book of Revelation has three sets of seven. We have seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. There had been an interlude before the seventh seal was opened, and we are in the midst of a second interlude now, right before the blowing of the seventh trumpet. Before the hammer falls, there is a divine pause, the witnesses confirm their testimony, and then the judgment.

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