Life Goes On

Prayer – Lord Jesus, life goes on…but changes are continual. It seems that a big change starts with these two witnesses. Please give me insight and wisdom into the significance of this event…and the mysteries of the book of Revelation. Thank you.

Then I was given a measuring stick, and I was told, "Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers. But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in burlap and will prophesy during those 1,260 days." These two prophets are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of all the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire flashes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. This is how anyone who tries to harm them must die. They have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall for as long as they prophesy. And they have the power to turn the rivers and oceans into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish. When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them. And their bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem, the city that is figuratively called "Sodom" and "Egypt," the city where their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, all peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will stare at their bodies. No one will be allowed to bury them. All the people who belong to this world will gloat over them and give presents to each other to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them. But after three and a half days, God breathed life into them, and they stood up! Terror struck all who were staring at them. Then a loud voice from heaven called to the two prophets, "Come up here!" And they rose to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched. Revelation 11:1-12

 

Meditate. Consider again the importance of the two witnesses.

 

Have you ever been a witness to something and had to tell others about it? Have you ever told someone…anyone…about how your relationship with Jesus has changed your life?

 

Two witnesses. They are dressed in burlap—a rough cheap fabric. No dignified and fine clothes for these wise men. As John prophesied, they’ll stand in the streets and prophesy—giving warnings, predictions, and the truth for three and a half years. With the great powers that God grants them they could change the world. Outbreaks of any kind of epidemic around the world. No rain. We know the devastating effects no rain and of world-wide pandemics. Will the two Witnesses be involved in future plagues that we will see in the near future?

 

A Model of the Second Temple
The original one was destroyed in 70 AD.
Where will the new one be built?

Somewhere in this timeframe of John's vision, the new Temple will be built in Jerusalem. Is it a Temple or a Tabernacle? We’ll have to wait and see. A Tabernacle is a moveable Temple of God that was designed by God and used as the design for the permanent Temple in Jerusalem which was destroyed in 70 AD. At the beginning of Revelation 11, John measures a new Temple to be built in Jerusalem.  

Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God's Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. Revelation 15:5

Eventually, we will see that there will be no need for a Temple.

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Revelation 21:22

Remember that the Book of Revelation is not in chronological order. In John’s vision he has jumped ahead of time…and then back to report on the witnesses.

 

Although this chapter tells us that the Beast will come out of the pit and kill the two witnesses, they will be around for forty-two months and have work to do before they die. Someone suggested the other day that they are already here and we just don’t know it. Did you read on? The witnesses are only dead for three and a half days, displayed in public, not buried, and then by the power and grace of God, they are resurrected. Resurrected—brought back to life—standing upright. Following that, God calls them up to heaven, “Come up here” and so, zap! They will go up—into the clouds. One day we will see them in Heaven.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, "Praise the LORD! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Revelation 19:1

  

© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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