Revelation Chapter Eleven

^{Introduction:}

^{Revelation Eleven returns to the normal historical sequence of events and begins to complete the issues of the Sixth Trumpet, the Second Woe as stated in Revelation 11:14. It appears that the issues that were started in the Fifth and the Early part of the Sixth Trumpet ares climaxed in the events of the the first part of Revelation Eleven. The definition that this writer has taken for the first part of the Sixth Trumpet (Revelation 9:13-21) are the events surrounding the establishment and development of the Jesuit movment in the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore Revelation 11:1-14 take those principles and events to their logical conclusion - the destructive forces of the French Revolution. (Great Controversy pages 265-288). After the times of the French Revolution come the events spoken of in the seven thunders of Revelation Ten. Then will come the introduction of the Seventh Trumpet which starts at the opening of the Most Holy Place and the revelation of the Ark of God's Testament.
 
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.
 
Author: Verse 1 refers us back to the issues of Ezekiel 40-43 where the prophet sees a man with a measuring line and a measuring reed in his hand. The purpose of this vision was to see the various qualities of the city of Jerusalem and the building of a temple therein. Zechariah chapters 1-2 have a similar quality of assessing a situation to build a city and a temple. God apprently wants John to assess the state of being of God's temple and the altar, and those who worship.
 
John would assess the progress of the temple that was the church (I Corinthians 3:14-17; I Corinthians 6:19) and the temple that was in heaven. (Hebrews 8:1-2). John was also to measure the altar which would be that altar of incense in Revelation 8:3-5 to see if the intercessory ministry of Christ was still fuctioning, and would assess the progress of God's people, those who worship in His temple. His job was to watch and observe the progress of the things of God as they prepared to move into the Most Holy Place in 1844. The Sixth Trumpet covers the events from 1537 AD to 1844 AD and so as we near the end of the Sixth Trumpet we would be coming nearer and nearer the time of 1844.
 

 ²But 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.

Author: God here gives us some more time perameters. He tells John not to measure the court because it has been given to the Gentiles - the non-believing people who have no interest in the things of God. Then God tells us that the Gentiles would tread under foot the Holy City, Zion - the church of God, for forty and two months. This is the same time period of verse 3, the forty two months of Revelation 13:5, and the time, times, and half a time of Daniel 7:25. All of these time periods equal the same time - 1260 days given to the control of the Little Horn of Daniel 7 - The Roman Catholic Church. (See Daniel 7 at www.the1844way.com). This time period starts in 538 AD and runs until 1798 AD.

The concept of treading under foot is a reference to the activities of the Little Horn in Daniel 8:9-14. His efforts to hide the Bible, and to interfere with the intercessory ministry of Christ, is referred to in this text. We know that this treading under foot is a spiritual reference to worship since the Little Horn can not interfere literally with Jesus (Hebrews 10:29) or His ministry (Hebrews 7:21-8:2) for both Jesus, and His ministry, are in heaven. But the Little Horn has done everything that He can do to get the peoples focus off Jesus and onto an anti-christian system of intercessory activity. In the Great Controversy page 55 we find the following statement:

"  The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened. Faith was transferred from Christ, the true foundation, to the pope of Rome. Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvatiaon, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed. A deviation from his requirements was sufficient cause for the severest punishment to be visited upon the bodies and souls of the offenders. Thus the minds of the people were turned away from God to fallible, erring, and cruel men, nay , more to the prince of darkness himself, who exercised his power, through them."

The Roman Catholic Church kept the people of the world in darkness concerning the intercessory ministry of Jesus for 1260 years. Yet God was now going to allow a force to rise that would break this strangle hold on truth, and allow this ministry to again take its rightful place in the minds of men.

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

Author: God promised to maintain His two witness for this same time period of 1260 days, yet these witnesses would be clothed in sackcloth. These two witnesses would be clothed in sackcloth for the period of 1260 years. Sackcloth would be a symbol of distress, and sadness for  the decisions of men. (Jeremiah 6:26; Esther 4:1-3). The sadness and distress was because the Catholic Church system did not want the Word of God to interfere with their tasks. All through history people have wanted to do what they wanted to do and have rejected the testimonies of God's prophets who would tell them what they did not want to hear. A perfect example of this is King Herod who did not want to hear that God did not want him to marry his brother's wife and Herod added rebellion to rebellion by taking John a prisoner and shut him up in a jail. Luke 3:19-20. This is what the Roman Catholic Church did during the dark ages, tried to shut the Word of God away from the people so that they would not know that what the church was doing was against the Word of God. This behavior was what Israel did to Jeremiah the prophet as well. II Chronicles 36:11-16

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

Author: This text is a reference to the two olive trees feeding the candlestics of God in Zechariah 4:1-14. In this text God refers to the olive tree and the candlsticks as the Word of Spirit of God. (Zechariah 4:4-6). The role of the Spirit of God is to bring back to our minds all of the things that Jesus taught us. (John 14:26). His Word is a Lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. (Psalm 119:105). This collection of Jesus' teaching is the Word of God the Old Testament and the New Testament, faithful witnesses to bring light out of darkness.

 ⁵And 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.

Author: God has warned people away from trying to tamper with His Word. God has said that anyone who adds or subtracts from His Word will be cursed. He said this both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. (Deuteronomy 4:1-24; Revelation 22:18-19). The fire proceeding out of their mouths is the declaration of judgment for misusing the Word of God. (Matthew 13:10-15; 33-42).

 ⁶These 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.

Author: God's Word has the power to shut off blessings from heaven and that the rains of God will not come on His people for their rebellious ways. For those who do not want to listen to God He will smite the earth with plagues because of the rebellion of the people. (See II Chronicles 7:12-14). 

 ⁷And 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.

Author: When the witnesses are finishing their testimony, somewhere near the end of the 1260 days, or shortly before 1798, then a beast, (a nation or government Daniel 7:17) will come up from the bottomless pit, or the grave, and shall attack the Word of God, and seek to rid the earth of God's Word.

 ⁸And 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.

Author: The great city, or the great nation, who attacked the Word of God was spiriutally called Sodom and Egypt. Sodom had been destroyed thousands of years before and thus a nation having this behavior around 1798 would display great licentiousness and loose morals. This nation would also have the Atheistic, rebellious, defiant, qualities of Egypt, another ancient nation whose spirit of rebellion was displayed in this nation around 1798. The nation that most fits the moral looseness of Sodom, and the rebellious atheistic qualities of Egypt, was that of France, during the Revolution. This nation was displaying the logical extension of the nature of the Dominican monks, and the Jesusits, in their attacks against the principles of the Reformation, as well as their attacks against the Reformers in the form of the Albigenses, the Catharii, the Waldenses, and the Hugenots. These people, whose primary crime was that they would not worship God they way that the Roman Catholic Church wanted them to. In crucifying God's people they crucified Jesus again.

 ⁹And 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.

Author: All of the world watched as Revolutionary France attacked the Word of God with their legislation and lifestyles. This period of time lasted about three and one half years in which the Word of God was legistlatively rejected and in whose lives the people of the land rejected the authority of God.  

 ¹⁰And 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.

Author: The people of France rejoiced over the rejection of the Word of God and they enjoyed that there was not Word to testify against them in doing what they wanted to do.

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

Author: In the book the Great Controversy page 287 the author states that France decreed in 1793 to abolish the Christian Relilgion and set aside the Bible. After 3.5 years of chaos the assembly changed their minds and decided that toleration was a better way to go after seeing the chaos of their earlier decisions.

 ¹²And 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.

Author: During the 3.5 years in which Revolutionary France had chosen to reject the Word of God, there was so much crime and chaos that it was like an earthquake to the land. After rescinding the decree to ban the Bible the Bible has been exalted as never before. The Bible societies sprang up and the Word of God was printed as never before and all who wanted to hear the Word could get a Bible for themselves. This crisis of France ended up promoting the Word of God through out the world. It was if God's Word had been blessed and taken to heaven in the site of their enemies.

 ¹³And 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 affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Author: When the French government had rejected God's Word, their was no restraint upon evil. The government turned on the people and the people on each other. There was utter chaos in France and and the slain of the land was profound. Included among the slain was the government's attacks on the church. Then even the church was not safe and the people turned on them and the text of Revelation 13:10 was fulfilled for the officials of the church were attacked and the history of the Inquisition was played out again but this time against the church. The people were frightened and returned to God to seek aid from Him and gave enough glory to God to end the period of the Revolution. (See Great Controversy pages 265-288).

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

Author: Thus ended the Sixth Trumpet the history of the Dominican Monks, the Jesuits, the Inquisition and the natural outflow of events which created the French Revolution and thus established the principles of the Communist Movement on a larger scale throughout the world.  

 ¹⁵And 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.

Author: At the end of the Sixth Trumpet, and the events in the seven thunders, brings us down to 1844 and the beginning of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. The events of the Seventh Trumpet will lead to the completion of the Investigative Judgement and the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and He shall reign for ever and ever. This period of time is referred to in Daniel 7:13-28. 

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

Author: The 24 elders could appreciate the significance of the events of the Trumpets and fell on their faces and worshipped God.

 ¹⁷Saying, 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.

Author: Now that the first Six Trumpets had completed and the time of the Seventh Trumpet had come the time of Jesus' reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords was soon at hand.

 ¹⁸And 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.

Author: The time of the Investigative Judgment had come and when it is finished all would be judged and rewards would be given to God's people and the just punishment would be given out to all of those who destroy the Earth. 

 ¹⁹And 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.

Author: Now that the Seventh Trumpet was sounding the events of 1844 could begin. The way into the Most Holy Place was now open and John could see the Ark of the Testament. Jesus had now come, as He had promised the Millerites, but He had come to the Ancient of Days in the Most Holy Place and the events and procedures of the Most Holy Place could not start their work. (Daniel 7:9-14) When this work is done then Jesus will come to Earth and receive the citizens of His kingdom unto Himself.