REVELATION 11 PART 2 of 3 VERSES 7 - 14

REVELATION 11  PART 2 of 3
VERSES 7 - 14

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   7) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

   8) 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.

   9) And they of the people and kindred 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.

   10) 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.

   11) And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and a great fear fell upon them which saw them.

   12) And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

   13) And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:  and the remnant were frightened, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

   14) The second woe is past; and , behold, the third woe comes quickly.

 

COMMENTARY

     This is the first mention of the beast in Revelation.  He has been increasing his authority and gaining control over much of the world (due to the power given him by the great dragon) in spite of the plagues these witnesses have called down upon him.  This scenario coincides with Chapter 6, when the plague of the "horsemen" is released.  The beast has dispatched armies to try to conquer them and they are miraculously annihilated AND these witnesses are also slain.

   It appears that we will have more to learn about this beast in Chapter 13.
 
   So, now the demonic horsemen and the witnesses are destroyed.  It is a time of celebration!  Party on!  Their lifeless bodies lie openly in the street as a testimony of the power of the beast.

  The three and a half days they lie in the streets, symbolically, signifies the three and a half years, or the first half of the seven year tribulation.  (Jesus Christ was also raised on the third day.)  Then, while the satellites are beaming the image of the dead witnesses, they come back to life!  Can you even begin to imagine the stark terror of those watching? It went from massive celebration to panic in 3, 2, 1!

   Not only had the witnesses come back to life, but they were audibly called up to the clouds as the world watched them go.  To put that exclamation point behind this event, the God of Heaven sent a great earthquake to the earth (and, I'll bet, to the hearts of men)!

   The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.


   Dear friend, please heed this warning.  Please accept the priceless gift of salvation before you will have to go through all of the tribulation.  "I got The Kingdom, He took the cross."  Is that the most astonishing deal ever made?  Click here for more information:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to leave your thoughts in a comment.  We would love to hear from you.  Please also pray for us, that God will use this ministry for His glory.  

You are welcome to share this post on your favorite social media if you know are friends with any one who would benefit from hearing about Jesus.  Thank you.
  

REVELATION 11 PART 3 of 3

REVELATION 11  PART 3 OF 3

VERSES 15 - 19

15) And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

   16) And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

   17) Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.

   18) And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy Name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

   19) And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament:  and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.  King James Version (KJV) public domain.

COMMENTARY

   As we close our study on Chapter 11, we see the 24 elders anticipating God's possession of His creation, being restored as it was intended with the sound of the seventh trumpet.  These things have been set in motion with the sounding of the seventh trumpet and all of the saints in Heaven have full confidence in our God that His will will be done, that He will prevail.  

   Dr. Henry Morris writes it this way:  "The term "reigned" should be rendered "shown thyself as king."  Christ at this point has not yet actually taken the earthly kingdoms and inaugurated His millennial reign, but He has demonstrated Himself to be the eternal and omnipotent Creator, and therefore absolute sovereign of all."

   "The time of the dead" needs to be understood that they will not be raised for judgment until after the 1000 years that Christ will reign on earth.

   Now, let us address verse 19:  In 2 Chronicles, 36:18, we remember that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple when he took Judah into captivity to Babylon.  "all of the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord" were also looted and carried away....all but the ark of the covenant, which has not been mentioned again after the Babylon victory, until now.  Within the ark was a pot of manna, Aaron's rod, and the two tables of God's law.  The ark was the most sacred aspect of the temple, because it was where God could commune with His people, above the mercy seat, which covered the ark.  The ark of the Covenant was obviously transported to Heaven during that time, to the temple of God there!

   Remember in Matthew 27: 51, that when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  Now, we who have accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, can boldly enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.  (Hebrews 10: 19 - 25)

   

Do you have a relationship with my Jesus that allows you access to the throne of God?  Click here for more information:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to pray that God uses our efforts for His glory.  You are also encouraged to leave your thoughts in a comment.  We would love to hear from you.

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REVELATION 11 PART 1 of 3

REVELATION 11  PART 1 of 3
VERSES 1 - 6

photo courtesy of heart2heart.blogspot.com

   1) 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.

   2) 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.

   3) And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

   4) These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

   5) 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.

   6) 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.  (King James Version, KJV, public domain)

  

COMMENTARY

   Reading the Book of Revelation is so confusing.  You can't just read it.  If you don't commit to study it, you will give up on trying to understand it; then you will forfeit the blessing.  

   Let us take the time to review the breaking of the first seal of chapter 6:  the white horse.  (Click here to review the entire chapter  http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/2016/11/revelation-6-1-8-king-james-version.html).   The rapture has taken place and Israel enters into a covenant with Satan for "7 years of peace".  In our current chapter, we see the temple has been rebuilt in Jerusalem.  Keep in mind that Satan had been gaining control of the world's nations since entering the covenant with Israel and was growing increasingly irritated at the Jews worshiping One other than himself; even though their acts of "worship" was blasphemous to the Most High God, Who had already given the Ultimate Sacrifice.  Also, there were 144,000 of them who had accepted Jesus and was preaching the Good News.

    So, the measurement the Apostle John was to perform was aimed at the Jew first, as is always the case with God.  He purifies them first, then judges the Gentile.

   Now, about the "two witnesses":  It is appointed to each man once to die, therefore, we can safely assume that these two are Elijah (see Malachi 4: 5, 6) and Enoch.  They were translated to heaven and did not taste death, so they are 3000 and 4000 years old!  They accepted God's assignment to witness for Him in the last days.  Don't you know that Satan hates them?

   Resuming our review of chapter 6, we see that the plagues these witnesses call down, are being done in heaven with each sound of the trumpets.  They are so in step with The Most High God.  Even when Elijah was walking on earth, he saw the spiritual world.

   Then, we could talk about God's timing.  He kept these two men for thousands of years until He was ready for them to witness to our sinful world.  We are in a hurry for Him to act on our behalf immediately!  We want to be His advisor, His consultant.  We want to hear from Him now!  When in reality, He knows what we need long before we ask for it.  Wait on Him:  His timing is perfect. 

Dear Friend, now is the time to accept the free gift of salvation.  Click here for more information:   https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html.

   
If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to leave your thoughts in a comment.  We would love to hear from you.  You are also encouraged to share this post on your social media, so that your friends might also be blessed.  Thank you.
  

REVELATION 10

REVELATION 10

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   1) And I saw another mighty Angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud:  and a rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire:

   2) And He had in His hand a little book open:  and He set His right foot upon the sea, and His left foot on the earth,

   3) And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth:  and when He had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

   4) And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write:  and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

   5) And The Angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up His hand to heaven,

   6) And sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be no longer delay:

   7) But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.

   8) 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.

   9) 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.

   10) 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.

   11) And He said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.   King James Version (KJV), public domain

 COMMENTARY

     Here is another mighty angel, the sight of which is so overwhelming to mortal man.  He is a strong angel with clouds draped across his shoulders, which is symbolic of Jesus' return for His church.  He has a rainbow upon his head, which will reassure Believers that God has not forsaken them.

   The cloud is a symbol of divine glory.  The rainbow is a symbol associated with the judgment on mankind in the days of Noah.  "The face as it were the sun" is the same face seen by Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road (his encounter with Jesus).  His feet were as pillars of fire--refer back to Chapter 1 of Revelation.  All of these descriptions are of Jesus.

   The "little book" is interesting.  One commentary says it is the title deed which was sealed with the seven seals.  Another commentary says it is not THAT title deed, but rather, Christ is giving a portion of His deed to His joint-heirs.  This "little book" was not sealed.  It appears that this might be the deed to a portion of His possession to believers who have been raptured (as represented by John).  The Word is sweet, but His saints will also be expected to participate in judging the angels and those who rejected Him.  Psalms 149: 6 - 9.  And we will reign with Him a thousand years.


  Dear friend, please don't tarry to accept your priceless gift of salvation.  Jesus paid the price for your sin and set you free.  All that is required of you is to accept His gift.  You are not guaranteed that you will live past tomorrow, much less through any of these trumpets.  Please click this link to go to our "Pathway to Salvation" page:  http://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html


If this ministry is a blessing to you, we encourage you to leave your thoughts in a comment.  We would love to hear from you.