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 is 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 during this
interlude discover 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 they 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, 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
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 for instance). 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, for 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 sight in Jerusalem, and the temples had been
built according to God’s instructions given to David and Solomon.
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 Israel from building her temple is that the second
holiest place to all Moslems in the world (next to Mecca) is the Mosque of Omar
which currently sits on the site where Solomon built the temple of the Lord. However, what has become common knowledge is
that just in the last couple of years some Jewish excavators have discovered
evidence that the ruins of the Holy of Holies is actually located in a
different place than originally had been thought. Now, it looks like it might be possible to
build the temple and not cause a holy war with all who call themselves
Moslem in the world.
2.11. Chuck Misler has stated that
he believes that it may possible 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’ which 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 (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 as to 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 immanent 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 their 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 saucers of the type 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 he would then
come 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
10.8. 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.
10.9. There is also a group in