REVELATION
CHAPTER 11, “The Ministry Of The Two Witnesses / The Seventh Trumpet Judgment
Sounds”
By
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at
an interlude that occurs before the sounding of the 7th Trumpet
Judgment.
1.1.1.
A mighty and majestic angel came down from
heaven and stood with one foot on the earth and one on the sea, and in his hand
he had a little book.
1.1.2.
The angel cried out and 7 thunderings are
heard, however for some reason John was not allowed to tell us what they say.
1.1.3.
The angel made an oath that there will be no
more delay in the Lord’s plans.
1.1.3.1.The Lord shall take
possession of the earth.
1.1.3.2.The mystery of God
will be finished or completed.
1.1.4.
John was told to take the book from the angel
and eat it, and then afterwards he is told that he must prophesy to many
peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to continue
here in this interlude before the sounding of the seventh and last Trumpet
judgment, which will occur in verse 15.
We will discover during this interlude that there are two witnesses who
will be upon the earth for 3 ˝ years as they prophesy and testify to the world
concerning the gospel and the judgments to come.
1.2.1.
We will speculate about who these two
witnesses might be.
1.2.2.
We will look at the very important ministry
of these two witnesses.
1.2.3.
We will notice that they are able to do
incredible miracles and that they are unable to be harmed until the time of
their ministry is complete, and then the Beast will kill them.
1.2.4.
When the two witnesses are killed, people all
over the earth will watch them and rejoice, however in 3 ˝ days these two
witnesses will be raised up from the dead and ascend into heaven, instilling
fear and a sense of awe upon the people of the world.
1.2.5. People
will not repent however, even though they have seen the incredible miracles
associated with these two witnesses
2.
VS 11:1-2 - “11:1 And there was given me a measuring rod like a
staff; and someone said, “Rise and measure the
2.1.
In this chapter, as with much of the book of Revelation, what hinders us
from having a good understanding of the book is based upon what things that we
interpret to be literally based. There have been many who have gotten way
off in their interpretation of the book of Revelation, however whenever
this has occurred it has usually occurred because the book has not been interpreted literally enough. In
order to have an accurate interpretation of this chapter of the book, we must
understand that:
2.1.1. There is a literal temple being discussed.
2.1.2. The two witnesses are
literally men who share the gospel and prophesy in the name of Christ.
2.1.3. The two witnesses literally
have the power to perform the miracles
which are mentioned in this chapter.
2.1.4. The two witnesses’ ministry
is literally 3 1/2 years in duration.
2.1.5. There is a literal
earthquake that occurs in the city of
2.1.6. A man who is designated “The
Beast” literally takes power over all of the world and slays the two
witnesses.
2.1.7. Etc., etc., etc.
2.2.
Chapter 11 flows right from where chapter 10 left off, and we saw in chapter 10 how that the strong angel
had touched down with one foot upon the land and another on the sea. This
strong angel’s message was that the Lord was soon to take possession of the
earth, which rightfully belonged to the Lord. The
strong angel then gave John a little book which he had open and John was
told to eat the book, which he did. John’s reaction to eating of the book was
bittersweet, for initially the book was sweet to his taste, however it became bitter as John realized the
judgments that were to come upon the earth as a result of the things
mentioned in the book.
2.3.
Until verse 15 of chapter 11 we are still in the interlude that will
occur before the seventh and final Trumpet Judgment sounds.
2.4.
Here in chapter
11 we see that John is given ‘a
measuring rod’ that was like a typical staff of that day which was used for
measuring things. Then, he was told to ‘measure the temple of God’, ‘the
altar’ which was in the temple, as well as the people who worship in the
temple.
2.5.
For some reason, in a few instances the Bible records God commanding His
creatures and His prophets to perform an act of surveying of His property.
2.5.1. In Ezekiel
40-43, a ‘man’ whom Ezekiel saw in a vision measured the
2.5.2. In Zechariah
chapter 2, Zechariah sees a vision and a man measures
2.5.3. In Revelation
chapter 21, a man appears to John and measures the
2.6.
When John wrote the book of Revelation at the end of the first century,
Jerusalem had already been overthrown,
which had occurred in 70AD, and the temple had been destroyed so
that there was not one stone atop another as Jesus had predicted would happen
(see Matthew 24). That temple was actually the third temple of
the Jews, and it had been built
by Herod for the Jews. It was
such a beautiful structure that Jesus’ discourse about the destruction of that
temple (Matt. 24) was brought about as a result of Jesus’ disciples admiring
the awesome beauty of that temple.
2.6.1. The first Jewish temple was built by Solomon
after David’s death.
2.6.2. The second temple of the
Jews was built under Zerubbabel after the exile, and you can read about the building of that temple in Ezra, as it
occurred during Ezra and Nehemiah’s time.
2.6.2.1.This second temple was
defiled by Antiochus Ephphanes and thus Herod chose to build the third temple
for the Jews.
2.7.
All of those three temples had existed on the same site in
2.8.
However, this temple mentioned in these verses has to be a fourth temple
that is to be built sometime in the future. This temple must be built either just before the beginning of the seven
year Tribulation or at the beginning of it. This
is the Tribulation temple, the fourth temple, which will actually be succeeded by the
2.9.
Interestingly, those who are of the radical orthodox branch of the Jews
living in
2.10. Everyone has known that the thing that has hindered
2.11. Chuck Missler has stated
that he believes that it may possibly be that the reason why John was told not
to measure the court of the Gentiles in verse 2, since ‘it has been given
to the nations and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two
months’, is because the
Mosque of Omar is standing on the spot where the court of the Gentiles should
exist, and that when this temple is built that the Court of the Gentiles
will not be able to be built because of the Moslem mosque.
2.12. The reason that some other
commentators have given for John being told not to measure the court of the
Gentiles is because the Gentiles were never allowed to be in the temple itself, they could only come into the court itself. Thus, that part of the temple was not sanctified as far as God is concerned.
3.
VS 11:3-4 - “3 “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and
they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord
of the earth.” - The strong angel tells John that he will
grant authority to his two witnesses to prophesy for 3 ˝ years
3.1.
These ‘two witnesses’ who
are now first mentioned in this verse are
some of the most interesting people who appear in the Bible, and their mission shall have more drama in it
than has occurred with any other prophet mentioned in the Bible.
3.2.
The “strong angel” mentions that these ones are, ‘my two
witnesses’, which seems to indicate that the identity of
the “strong angel” is Jesus
Christ. It is unlikely that a
created being would call these ones, ‘my two witnesses’.
3.3.
John does not
give us the identity of these two witnesses, and we might just be content to
believe that these ones are just men whom God will raise up from those on the
earth on that day, if it were not for a few facts:
3.3.1. Elijah is mentioned
prophetically by Malachi in the last verse of the Old Testament as coming back
to the earth before the day of the Lord in Malachi 4:5-6, “5 “Behold, I am
going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and
terrible day of the Lord. 6 “And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to
their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the land with a curse.””
3.3.1.1.New Testament scriptures
allude to John the Baptist not being Elijah:
3.3.1.1.1.He came as a type of Elijah,
in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), thus Elijah is still to come.
3.3.1.1.2.When asked if he were Elijah
in John 1:19-23, John the Baptist denied it, “19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him
priests and Levites from
3.3.1.1.3.So, it appears that Elijah
has not yet literally returned to the earth, and that he must return before
Christ’s second coming.
3.3.2. There have been two men in
the history of the earth whom God has taken up to be with Him who never went through the experience of physical
death, Enoch and Elijah.
3.3.3. Elijah and Moses met with
Jesus upon the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus was momentarily transfigured
to glory before His disciples, and the discussion was most likely centered
around the things to come in the future (Matt. 17:3; Mark 9:4).
3.3.4. When Elijah and Moses were
upon the earth, they performed the same exact miracles that the two witnesses
are going to perform. So, both Moses’ and Elijah’s resumes qualify them to
be the channels for the work that the Lord will carry out through these two
witnesses.
3.3.4.1.Elijah prayed a famine upon
the earth and fire to come down from heaven.
3.3.4.2.Moses prayed and the waters
turned into blood and plagues came upon the Egyptians.
3.3.5. Enoch, as was mentioned, did
not die but was taken by God up to heaven. We see in Genesis that Enoch walked closely
with the Lord and “was not for the Lord took Him”.
3.3.5.1.Enoch is usually discounted
from selection however since his resume does not include God’s using him to
perform the miracles that these two witnesses will perform through God’s power.
3.3.5.2.However, there
is a very obscure reference to Enoch in the book of Jude, Jude 14-15, and a prophetic judgment pronounced by him
that sounds very similar to the things that these two witnesses might speak
to the wicked people of this world, “14
And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied,
saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to
execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly
deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.””
3.4.
These two witnesses are currently in God’s presence, for they ‘stand before the Lord of the earth’
in the Greek present tense. They will be called to earth to be His witnesses
during this Tribulation period.
3.4.1. Again, there are two men who
have never gone through physical death
who are currently there in His presence, and so one could argue that since Enoch and Elijah never died that they
are the ones who will be selected.
3.4.2. However, at the time of
John’s receiving this vision, all of the Old Testament saints had been taken by
Christ from Abraham’s Bosom in Hades to heaven and thus they all were there in
God’s presence at the time that John wrote this book.
3.5.
John is very specific concerning the length of the ministry of these two
witnesses: ‘twelve hundred and sixty
days’. This is exactly 3 ˝ years in duration and corresponds to either the first or the last half of the
seven year Tribulation period.
However, in order for the
chronology of events to occur that the book of Revelation shows occur
during the Tribulation period, these
witnesses’ ministry must be during the first half of the Tribulation. Their
being killed by the Beast, and their subsequent resurrection up to heaven, then
open the way for the Beast to carry out the what the Bible teaches about the
last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation, which is known properly as “The
Great Tribulation”.
3.6.
These two witnesses are also called, ‘two olive trees and the two
lampstands’, which indicates their character and special role during this
time of the Tribulation. In Zechariah chapter 4, Zechariah had a vision of two olive trees and
of two lampstands, and it is this vision of Zechariah which is being
pointed out to John in these verses concerning these two witnesses. In chapter 4, Zechariah asks the Lord what
these olive trees signify, and the Lord answers him in Zech. 4:12-14, “12 And I answered the second time and said to him,
“What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which
empty the golden oil from themselves?” 13 So he answered me saying, “Do you not
know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are
the two anointed ones, who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.””
3.6.1. The fact that these verses
refer to this section of Zechariah might also be considered more ammunition for
considering these two witnesses to be Elijah and Enoch since they would have been there in heaven when
Zechariah prophesied.
3.7.
The two witnesses are ‘olive trees’ because their ministry has an
anointing by the Holy Spirit. They are called ‘lamp stands’ because they are major light bearers for the
Lord during the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation. Their
preaching of the gospel and prophetic denunciations of the wicked upon the
earth will be used to win multitudes to Christ, and their ministry will have world-wide impact as they will
become a curiosity to people in every part of the world. They
will tell the world why the various judgments have been coming upon them, and
about the Lord’s imminent return as king over all of the earth. They will call sin what it is, and they will not hold back any of God’s Words from people. Their ministry will not be just on Sunday’s,
it will occur every single day during
that 3 1/2 year period.
3.8.
By the way oh Christian, are you an anointed olive trees for the Lord and
His usage in this world? Are you the
light bearing lampstand shining forth your good works and testimony for Jesus
to the world?
3.9.
I believe that one of the men will be Elijah, however I’m not sure if the
other witness will be Moses or Enoch. Time will tell, all we need to know for sure
is that two witnesses will come upon the earth during this time.
3.10. Interestingly, note that
these two witnesses are upon the earth however they are not in the glorified
bodies that will typify the church and God’s people of Old Testament times,
after the “rapture” of the church when the dead in Christ have also been
resurrected.
4.
VS 11:5 - “5 And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds
out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to
harm them, in this manner he must be killed.
6 These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not
fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters
to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as
they desire.” - These two witness are able to perform
incredible miracles upon the earth and their enemies, and they will be
invincible until the time of their ministry is complete
4.1.
These two witnesses will be invincible, and like the 144,000 no one will
be able to lay a hand on them until the
time appointed to them for ministry shall be completed.
4.2.
These two
witnesses have incredible works of power being performed through their lives by
God to protect them, for if anyone ‘desires
to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies’.
4.3.
By the way, there is a sense also that each of us as Christians is
invincible until the time when we have completed the calling that the Lord has
for our lives. We should rejoice and see that we fulfill our
calling, and we need not fear what man
may do to us, “for if God is for us, who can be against us”.
4.3.1. Satan shall not be able to
touch us unless the Lord shall allows it,
and if He allows it, He also has a good reason for doing so, and thus, if this
should occur we should also rejoice and give thanks.
4.4.
There are further attesting signs accompanying these two witnesses. They also have the ‘power to shut the sky
in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying’, and they also have ‘power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth
with every plague, as often as they desire’.
4.5.
I have already mentioned that Elijah, during his earthly life, prayed a
famine upon the land, and in fact he
prayed a famine that lasted the exact
duration as the famine that shall be decreed by these two witnesses: 3 1/2 years.
4.6.
Likewise, as I
previously mentioned Moses had the
ability through the Lord to turn the waters into blood and to strike the
Egyptians with various plagues.
4.7.
It is interesting
that we have already seen with the seal
and trumpet judgments that there is a major famine upon the earth during the
first half of the Tribulation, plus the waters are turned into blood, and there
are plagues which likewise will occur.
Now, we realize whom it is that will be the agents upon the earth
in causing these disastrous things to occur, its these two witnesses.
5.
VS 11:7 - “7 And 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.” - The Beast that comes up out of the ‘abyss’
will kill the two witnesses
5.1.
Here in this
verse, we see the first mention in the
book of the man who is called ‘The Beast’. Here he
is called ‘the beast that comes up out of the abyss’, and this
should cause us to ponder concerning what
is his nature is in reality.
5.1.1. Obviously, his
coming up out of that place in the center of the earth that now holds the souls
of those who refused to worship God and fallen angels reveals the demonic
activity that is at the very center of his being.
5.1.2. However, it
could mean more. It could be possible that this one is not human
at all but completely of demonic origin.
Some have speculated that the Beast could actually come to the earth as a supposed alien, part of a
supposed alien race, and perhaps even
in a flying saucer of the type of UFO that people have been seeing for
many years. This could, of course, be part of that great deception that is
going to come upon the whole earth.
5.1.3. It is very possible though
that when the anti-Christ dies from the fatal head wound that he
initially goes down to the Abyss, and thus when he is healed from this
wound then comes up out of the Abyss to continue his reign (see Rev.
13:3,12). This could then explain why the Beast is initially seen coming up out of
the Abyss.
5.2.
In any case, the two witnesses we have been introduced to
are invincible until the Lord is through using them according to His
will, and then the Beast is allowed to
kill them.
6.
VS 11:8-10 - “8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the
great city which mystically is called
6.1.
In verse 8,
6.1.1. ‘
6.1.2. ‘
6.2.
Jesus ‘was crucified’ in
6.3.
Before the advent of the television
and internet web cams, and the
preponderance of televisions and computers connected to the internet in most
homes in the world today, it would have
been impossible to imagine how that the people from all of the nations could be
viewing the dead bodies of these two witnesses laying in the streets of
Jerusalem. Now however, we can
see how all of the nations could at once be viewing these bodies.
6.4.
In verse 10, we have the first and only mention of merriment in the book
of Revelation, and it is merriment over
the slaying of these two men who have been a thorn in the sides of all of those
who are impenitent upon the earth. People all over the earth have become filled
with rage at these two witnesses who have day after day denounced their sinful
lifestyles and impending judgment by God. Now that the Beast has killed the two
witnesses, people all over the earth
will give presents to one another (much as people used to do on earth at
Christmas time before the Christians were raptured from the earth) in joyous mockery.
6.5.
With these two witnesses out of the way, this will cause the people of
the earth to now be ready to worship the Beast upon the throne of the temple (the Abomination of Desolations). After
all, the Beast has now shown himself superior to the two witnesses and the
Christ and God whom they serve.
7.
VS 11:11-13 - “11 And 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 beholding them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven
saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and
their enemies beheld them. 13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake,
and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the
earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” - John tells us that after 3 ˝ days that the
two witnesses are resurrected back to life and ascend up to heaven in a cloud
7.1.
We see in this
chapter that people all over the world
are constantly watching on their television sets or computers the dead bodies
of the slain two witnesses as
they are celebrating their demise. Television stations and web cams are providing
continuous coverage of the events surrounding their death.
7.2.
In verse 11, we must interpret the 3 1/2 days to be three and a half
literal days. Three and a half days after the two witnesses
have been slain, as the world is
watching the dead bodies of these two witnesses on television, they come back
to life through God’s miraculous power, and this causes ‘great fear’ to
fall upon all of those who are watching them as this happens.
7.3.
Not only are
people all over the world observing the bodies of the two slain witnesses as
they come back to life, they also hear
the voice which came from heaven and called out to the witnesses, “Come up
here”.
7.4.
Then, the people of the world observe the two
witnesses ascend slowly up into heaven in a cloud in just the same way that the Lord Jesus
Himself ascended up to heaven 40 days after his resurrection from the
dead.
7.5.
A tremendous tragedy occurs just after the witnesses ascend up into heaven, a great earthquake occurs in
7.6.
Observing the performance of these miracles by God
causes the people of the earth to momentarily give glory to God, however because their lives are wicked
they immediately resume their wicked
ways and turn away from God much the way that Pharaoh continued to
harden his heart as he saw the great miracles which the Lord performed in the
plagues upon his people.
7.7.
Those who are of the “mid-tribulation” pre-millennial eschatology
view point believe that the Lord saying, “Come up here”, is the “rapture”
of the church occurring. We saw the Lord saying the same thing to John though
in chapter 4 of the book, and we saw that it was most likely at that point in
time when the “rapture” would occur.
There are at least a few reasons
for believing that the chapter 4 account is the “rapture” rather than
this one:
7.7.1. John in chapter 4 is a much
better representation of the church.
7.7.2. These two witnesses are most
likely representatives of the Old Testament saints.
7.7.3. No one else is taken up to
heaven at this point in time but these two witnesses.
8.
VS 11:15-17 - “15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose 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.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on
their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We
give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou
hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign.” - The seventh Trumpet Judgment sounds
8.1.
As I have mentioned a few times
previously in our study of the book of Revelation, I believe that the seventh seal judgments contains the seven trumpet
judgments, and that the seventh trumpet judgment contains the seven bowl (or
vial) judgments.
8.2.
Here in verse 15 we have the seventh angel blowing the seventh trumpet, and what happens as a result is initially that ‘loud voices’ arise in heaven
declaring that, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our
Lord, and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever’.
8.3.
Christ has been the rightful heir of the kingdom of the earth, however in
the interim Satan has been allowed to be the prince of the power of the air. Satan has
been roaming around the earth and allowed to wreak havoc in people’s lives,
however now after the 7 Year Tribulation Christ is going to return to earth and strip away all power and authority
from Satan, as He locks Satan up in “The Abyss” for the period of the
Millennial Reign of Christ.
8.3.1. We also know from the book of Revelation, at the end of the Millennium that Satan will
be loosed for a time and cause an insurrection, then Satan will be cast
into the Lake of Fire which shall burn forever and ever.
8.4.
We saw the 24 elders initially in chapter 4 of the book, and here they
are mentioned again because this loud proclamation by many voices
concerning Christ’s coming to reign upon the earth causes them to fall down on their faces and
worship Christ.
8.4.1. These 24 are representatives
of redeemed humanity in heaven, and they know where Christ’s rightful place of
rule and authority belongs, for they know
who is worthy of all worship, praise, honor, and glory.
8.4.2. These 24
elders cannot help but worship Christ at the thought of Him finally
coming to take His rightful place of rule and authority over the earth.
8.5.
The 24 elders declare in worship to Christ that He is the One ‘who art
and who wast,’ but they do not continue as they had previously saying that He is
also ‘the One who is to come’, and the reason is because Christ is now
preparing to finally come and to reign upon the earth. In more
modern language, they are saying that He is now the One ‘who was and is’, not
the One ‘who was and is and is to come’.
The implication is that He is here now.
8.6.
The 24 elders now acknowledge Christ as being ‘almighty’ and
having ‘great power’ which enables
Him to be able to come and to reign over the earth.
9.
VS 11:18 - “18 “And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came,
and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward
to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy
name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”” - John looks both forward and backward in time
to the judgments to come upon the wicked as well as the rewards for God’s
people
9.1.
This verse is forward looking, for it points to the end of the Millennial
Reign of Christ where Christ judges all
of the dead throughout history who were not of God’s people at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation
chapter 20.
9.2.
Included in this judgment is the destruction to an eternal hell for those
‘who destroy the earth’.
9.2.1. Those who live a life away
from God live selfishly and with regard primarily for themselves, and thus they also are people who are so selfish and thoughtless as
to ‘destroy the earth’.
9.3.
However, this verse also looks somewhat back in time
to the judgment of believers which occurred just after the “rapture” of the
church (before the 7 Yr. Tribulation) and is a judgment of rewards not
of punishment.
9.4.
The verse also looks just slightly forward to the end of the Tribulation
when the ones who have come to know Christ during the Tribulation are judged
for rewards at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ.
9.5.
No one shall escape judgment before Christ, for both ‘the
small and the great’ (and everyone in-between) must come and stand
before Him.
10.
VS 11:19 - “19 And the
10.1. In the book of Hebrews we
read that everything in the temple which God had Solomon to build was patterned
after the real temple that is in heaven. In Heb.
8:4-5, the author writes about God’s directing Solomon to make
everything according to the pattern shown him by God, “4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since
there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; 5 who serve a copy
and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was
about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,”
He says, “that you make all things
according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.””
10.2. Likewise, in
Hebrews chapter 9 the author writes that Christ appeared in the true temple in
heaven in order to present His blood there and to then to constantly intercede
in prayer for us, verses 23 and 24 of chapter 9 say, “23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies
of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a
holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
10.3. So, here in this verse we see that the
10.4. In the movie, “The
Raiders of the Lost Ark”, which
portrays Harrison Ford searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant, there is much mystery, intrigue, and awe that
is struck in every heart at the thought of finding this item that was
considered the most holy piece in God’s temple, for the ark was the very place where atonement with God was made, and where God met
with men.
10.5. The Lord taught the
Israelites painful lessons about how they were to treat the ark as such a holy
and sacred object.
10.5.1.At one point in Samuel the
Philistines captured the ark, however God caused many terrible things to happen
to the Philistine people who kept the ark
until they returned it to the people of
10.5.2.Then, later in 2
Samuel 6:6-7 when David went to return the ark from the threshing floor
of Nacon who had taken the ark after the Philistines abandoned it near his
home, to the temple, on the way back the oxen cart carrying the ark almost
tipped over and Uzzah reached out and
merely touched the ark, and God caused him to fall over dead for he had
treated the ark as an unholy and common thing by merely touching it, “6 But when they came to the threshing
floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it,
for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah,
and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark
of God.”
10.6. However, even though the
Lord so diligently watched over the ark during most of the history of
10.7. The earthly temple which God
called Solomon to build only had a temporary function, and that was to reflect
the true temple which is in heaven. Likewise, the Ark of the Covenant, which was central to the Holy of Holies in the
temple was meant merely to symbolize the true ark which is in heaven,
and the true way of coming to God through Jesus Christ and the blood that He
shed for man’s sin upon the cross of
10.1. It is believed by some very
competent Bible scholars that when the Ark of the Covenant disappeared for the
last time out of the hands of the Israelites, that the Lord actually translated
directly into heaven, and that what John
was seeing in this vision was actually the ark that once was upon the earth
dwelling in the tabernacle in Israel.
10.2. There is also a group in