REVELATION - CHAPTER 11
A Bible Study - Commentary by Jim
Melough
Copyright
2000 James Melough
11:1.
“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.”
In Scripture a reed is almost
invariably used as a symbol of weakness. The soldiers put a reed in the hand of Christ in mockery of His
claim to be earth’s King. But God’s
power is made perfect in weakness. That
reed mockingly placed in the hand of the Lamb will be a rod of iron in His hand when
He returns in power and glory as the Lion of Judah. The hand in which man mockingly put a reed, is the hand in which
God has placed the scepter of universal sovereignty.
This reed given to John is the
symbol of what man foolishly mocked - God’s power.
Now it is to be used to measure: that measuring being the token that the thing
measured belongs to God. The reed is
said to be “like unto a rod,” further proof that here it is the symbol of power,
a power made perfect through Christ’s weakness when He died in man’s place for
man’s sin.
It is the temple, or more
correctly, the sanctuary that is to be measured, including the altar.
The prohibition against measuring the outer court “given unto the
Gentiles” indicates that the reference is to the earthly temple to be built during
or perhaps before the Tribulation period.
In addition to sanctuary and
altar, “them that worship therein” were also to be measured or counted,
signifying that they also belonged to God. They
may represent the saved remnant of the Tribulation era.
11:2.
“But the court which is without (outside) 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.”
In Herod’s temple there was
an outer court for the Gentiles, and this present reference indicates that the
Tribulation-age temple will have a similar court. There may, however, be an indirect reference to the fact that
temple and worship will exist only by Gentile permission, a confirmation of this
perhaps being the statement that Jerusalem will be under Gentile dominion for
forty-two months (three and a half years, or twelve hundred and sixty days), i.e.,
the last three and a half years of the Tribulation era.
(It is to be remembered that in prophecy, the standard of time is the Jewish
year of 360 days, and three and a half such years are exactly 1260 days as specified
here).
This, like many of the details
of the coming Tribulation age, serve to remind us that the millennial kingdom was
available to Israel two thousand years ago, for few will need to be reminded that as
the world stage was set then, so will it be again: as Israel’s temple and worship
existed then only by Gentile permission, so will it be in the fast-approaching seven
years when the Roman “beast” emperor will rule the earth again.
11:3.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a
thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
This section has spawned more
controversy than possibly any other portion of Scripture, most disagreement resulting
from dogmatism and a determination to fill in details which God has seen fit to omit.
We will try to avoid both of these errors, examining with open mind what is
written, using Scripture itself to illuminate what God is saying.
This requires us to accept the language first as being literal, and then to
examine it from the viewpoint of its being also symbolic, in whole or in part.
The simple literal statement is
that God will endue two witnesses with special power to prophesy for a period of
twelve hundred and sixty days, during which time they will be clothed in sackcloth.
In spite of the fact that He
doesn’t further identify them, there is no lack of those willing to make that
identification. On the basis of their
having the same miraculous power as was possessed by Moses and Elijah, they have been
identified as these two prophets, and Malachi 4:4-5 is appealed to for confirmation,
“Remember the law of Moses my servant ... I will send you Elijah the prophet before
the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord....”
Further appeal is made to the fact that Moses and Elijah appeared with the
Lord on the mount of transfiguration, additional confirmation being deemed to exist
in the fact that Elijah was raptured, and the burial place of Moses was never found.
Malachi 4, however isn’t the
only Scripture referring to this promise. Mt
17:10-13 has also something to say. As
they came down from the mount of transfiguration “His disciples asked Him, saying,
Why then say the scribes that Elias (Elijah) must first come?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and
restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him
not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed .... Then the disciples understood
that He spake unto them of John the baptist.”
And again the Lord declared that John the baptist fulfilled Malachi’s
prophecy, “There hath not arisen a greater than John .... For all the prophets and
the law prophesied until John. And if ye
will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come” (Mt 11:11-14).
Further confirmation of the character of John’s mission is furnished in the
angel’s words to Zacharias in Lk 1:17, “And he shall go before him (Christ) in
the spirit and power of Elias....”
The Gospel preached by the Lord
during His earthly ministry was a call to repentance and conversion in order to enter
first the long-promised millennial kingdom, and then heaven at the conclusion of that
earthly kingdom. Had Israel received
John’s testimony to Christ, they could have entered the millennial kingdom then,
and since the duration of that kingdom is limited to one thousand years, earth’s
history would have closed a thousand years ago, and we would now be in the eternal
state.
Had Israel accepted her Messiah
then, He would still have been crucified by Roman hands, for His blood must be shed
for the remission, not only of Israel’s sin, but for that of the whole world.
The seven years of the Tribulation would have followed, during which time
Israel would have suffered terrible persecution at the hand of the Romans, and
deliverance would have come by the return of the resurrected Christ to establish His
millennial kingdom. No OT prophecy would
have been altered, the Church age would never have been (the Church is not in OT
prophecy; her history constitutes a break in the continuity of God’s program for
Israel), and the Millennium would have run its course, and ended a thousand years
ago. A careful reading of the Gospels
leaves absolutely no doubt that the Lord’s ministry was exclusively to Israel, and
consisted of a call to repentance as preparation to enter the millennial kingdom, not
in a far distant day, but right then, the only interval between the invitation and
the establishment of the kingdom being the foretold seven years of the Tribulation.
But the condition was “if ye
will receive it....” Israel failed to
fulfill the condition. They would not
receive it. Acceptance of the
kingdom could not be divorced from acceptance of the King.
Without the King there could be no kingdom.
Their rejection of Him resulted in withdrawal of the offer of the kingdom
until the time when they would receive the King.
The coming Tribulation is to prepare them to do just that. And history will repeat itself.
Israel will again be under Roman dominion, occupying the land, and having
revived the temple worship by Roman permission.
The Gospel preached in the Tribulation period will be the same Gospel
proclaimed by Christ two thousand years ago, “Repent.
The kingdom is at hand.” Refusal
to worship the Roman “beast” ruler will bring terrible persecution, from which
deliverance will come at the Lord’s return in power and glory.
It is clear therefore that
these unidentified witnesses are not Moses and Elijah, or for that matter anyone from
a previous age, but simply witnesses whose ministry will be characterized by the same
miraculous power as was given to those two earlier prophets.
It is the Lord Himself, Who upon the first offer of the kingdom, identified
John as the witness who was the foretold Elijah.
Clearly he was not literally Elijah, but simply one endued with the same
power. It is unnecessary therefore for these witnesses to be anything
more than prophets or witnesses, who will be endued with the same miraculous power as
was given Moses and Elijah.
As to the specific time of
their witness, it would appear to be during the Great Tribulation, i.e., the
final three and a half years of the seven year Tribulation period, for “a thousand
two hundred and threescore days” are three and a half years, the prophetic year consisting of
only 360 days. Some insist that the
ministry of these two witnesses will be in the first half of the Tribulation era, and
that may well be, but it isn’t crucial that we be able to pinpoint the time of
their ministry.
Their being clothed with
sackcloth may indicate the sorrow with which they will declare their message, that
sorrow stemming from the knowledge that the vast majority will reject the warning and
thereby make themselves the heirs of judgment. Their
compassion will be but a reflection of the Lord’s, for we read of Him that “When
He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it” (Lk 19:41), saying, “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Mt.23:37.
11:4.
“These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the
God of the earth.”
The imagery is almost identical
with that of Zec ch 4, where we read of two olive trees standing on either side of a
golden candlestick or lampstand. There the symbolic reference is to the power of the Holy Spirit,
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zec
4:6), and that the power is connected with witness is disclosed in their being
associated with the lampstand, symbol of witness or testimony.
Clearly the same association is to be made here.
The number two speaks of witness; the trees remind us that these witnesses are
only men, for trees represent humanity, but their being olive trees tells us
that they are men filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, for olive oil is one of
the Biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit.
11:5.
“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.”
None will fail to note the
parallel with 2 Ki ch 1, which records Elijah’s calling down fire to destroy those
sent to bring him to king Ahaziah, the wicked son of the wicked Ahab.
As the devouring fire descended in response to Elijah’s invocation, so
apparently will it be in connection with these latter day witnesses.
It is unlikely that the fire will literally come out of their mouths, but that
it will fall in response to their invocation of God.
Nor should there be skepticism regarding such miraculous manifestation, for
God’s dealings with Israel have frequently been accompanied by just such
manifestation, and it must be remembered that in the Tribulation, God will be dealing
again with His ancient people Israel.
11:6.
“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.”
It is significant that the
drought invoked by Elijah (1 Ki 17:1), lasted for three and a half years (see Lk
4:25), the same length of time as that in which the ministry of these witnesses will
be maintained.
The turning of the waters to
blood, and the smiting of the earth with plagues, are reminiscent of the miracles of
Moses, nor does there appear to be any reason to doubt that similar miracles will be
performed by these two witnesses in the Tribulation era.
Few students of prophecy, in fact, question the fact that the plagues which
preceded the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, are themselves but types of
the Tribulation age judgments that will culminate also in the deliverance of Israel.
11:7.
“And 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.”
This beast is generally
recognized as being the same as the one described in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13, and
clearly the references are to both the king and the kingdom that will rule the world
in the Tribulation, i.e., the revived Roman empire, consisting of a coalition of ten
nations, each having its own king or leader, but all of them subject to the supreme
authority of the king described as the beast, the man who will be Satan’s
counterfeit of God’s King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Dan 7:3 and Re 13:1 this
beast ruler is seen coming up out of the sea, i.e., he will be a man rising to
prominence from the great sea of Gentile humanity. But here in Re 11:7 he is seen coming up out of the bottomless
pit. There is no contradiction, however,
for the two figures combine to declare that he will be a man, but a man so completely
yielded to the will of Satan as to be the living personification of that evil spirit,
just as the Lord was the Personification of the Father, He Himself declaring, “He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father (Jn 14:9).
The preservation of the
witnesses until God’s appointed time, reminds us that Satan has no power other than
what God permits. It reminds us also
that it is by the exercise of both His directive and His permissive will, that
God’s purposes are accomplished. This
knowledge should deliver the believer from anxious care in regard to every
circumstance of life.
The fact that the beast ruler
“makes war against them” has been adduced as reason for believing that the two
witnesses represent all of the Tribulation martyrs, since war is a term
associated with large numbers rather than just two individuals.
Against this, however, is the difficulty of explaining their power to work
miracles, since there is nothing to indicate that this power will be possessed by all
the believers of the Tribulation age, or even those of them who will be martyred.
On the whole it seems better to believe that they will be two actual
witnesses, for the statement in Dan 7:21 that he (the beast ruler) “... made war
with the saints, and prevailed against them,” doesn’t exclude the killing of
these two witnesses as a special event in that war.
11:8.
“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.”
While there are differing views
as to the identity of “the great city,” the choice narrows down to Jerusalem or
Rome, for both are described in Scripture as great (Re 21:10; 18:21).
The only other view having anything to commend it is that of Morris which
takes “the great city” to represent “... every city and no city.
It is civilized man in organized community.” This view, however, evades, rather than answers the question of
which city is meant.
While Christ was slain
literally in Jerusalem, it must be remembered that He was delivered over to death by
Pilate, the representative of Rome; but Rome is spiritually “Babylon,” the city
which has been synonymous with false religion since the dawn of history, and there is
no question that when Christ was crucified, Jerusalem had become the center of one of
those religions, apostate Judaism, so that He could be said to have died in both
Jerusalem and Rome - literal Jerusalem, and spiritual Rome, the two being but
different aspects of the same city, as seems to be the thought in regard to the
“great city” we are considering “which is spiritually called Sodom and
Egypt.”
There are fewer difficulties
connected with understanding the city to be Jerusalem, a view that appears to be
confirmed by the city’s being described as the place “where also our Lord was
crucified.” While certainly the whole
world was guilty of that atrocity, it is Jerusalem that stands uniquely associated
with the Lord’s death. The present
context also seems to point to Jerusalem, for we have to remember that this section
begins with John’s being commanded to measure the temple, and the temple can’t be
anywhere except in Jerusalem.
Since, however, Sodom is
synonymous with moral corruption, and Egypt, with the bondage of God’s people,
there can be little doubt that we are being shown the divine estimate of the whole
system, religious, commercial, and political, which, for the Jews, during the
Tribulation, will be centered in Jerusalem, but for the Gentiles, in Rome.
There will be moral corruption, and murderous persecution of those who belong
to Christ.
11:9.
“And 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.”
There is no obvious reason not
to take this literally, since television makes possible the viewing of just such a
spectacle as is described here.
The reference to three and a
half days has led some to conclude that they represent the final three and a half
years of the Tribulation period, and that these two martyrs represent all the
believers who will be slain during that period. As has been noted already. however, a literal interpretation
eliminates the difficulties raised by a non-literal view of this section.
11:10.
“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.”
There can be little doubt that
the torment attributed to these two prophets is that which will result from their
faithful denunciation of sin. The
conscience of an unbelieving, Christ-hating world must always be tormented by the
declaration of truth, though unfortunately that torment leads, in only a very few
instances, to repentance. The usual
response is described in Ac 7:54-59, “When they heard these things, they were cut
to the heart, and they gnashed on him (Stephen) with their teeth .... They cried with
a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him
out of the city, and stoned him....” So
will it be also in the Tribulation in response to the preaching of the two witnesses,
earth’s joy at the death of God’s servants being the measure of humanity’s
hatred of holiness.
11:11.
“And 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.”
The joy of unbelief is always
short lived. The Tribulation age rebels
will find their celebration turned quickly to consternation, as the power of God
infuses the dead bodies of His two witnesses with life again.
And as each Biblically recorded resurrection is a miniature of that which
awaits the believer, so is it also with that of the two witnesses: it will serve to
assure the believers of that age that they need not fear death, that the Lord they
serve is He Who has vanquished Death, emerging from the tomb to declare, “I am He
that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death” (Re 1:18). Its
being recorded here is no less for the encouragement of believers today.
11:12.
“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.”
Their ascent into a sphere far
beyond the reach of puny man’s hatred, reminds us that that is the refuge made
available to faith through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
it is significant that they went up to heaven “in a cloud,” for it was in similar
fashion that the Lord Himself ascended into heaven, “While they (the disciples)
beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Ac 1:9).
But the reference to the cloud
in connection with the Lord’s ascent, reminds us that there is to be a return, an
event also associated with clouds, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall
wail because of Him” (Re 1:7), see also Mt 24:30; 26:64.
It is interesting to note also that clouds are mentioned in connection with
the Rapture, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven ... and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we
ever be with the Lord” (1 Th 4:16-17).
The association of clouds with
the Lord’s ascension and return, and with the ascension of His own to heaven,
reminds us that we shall come with Him when He returns in the clouds to establish His
millennial kingdom. As in the days of
Noah, the cloud was the background for the bow of promise, following the death of
creation, Ge 9:13, so also in connection with the death of His own, the cloud is
associated with the glorious truth of the resurrection of life.
The redeemed, of all the ages, are for ever beyond the power of death.
11:13.
“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 affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
There is nothing to indicate
that this language is anything other than literal, and as to the city involved, we
have noted already that it seems to be Jerusalem.
The two numbers mentioned, ten
and seven, however, have an additional lesson to convey, for ten is the number of
divine government, and seven, the number of perfection or completeness.
Whatever question there might be regarding the tenth part of the city, there
is no question that this judgment is the direct result of God’s government in
chastisement upon sin. And whether the
seven thousand is literal or figurative, there is little question that this
earthquake is a part of those judgments that will shake the whole world, and will
culminate in the destruction of Gentile power so long misused, and in the
inauguration of Christ’s millennial kingdom.
The affrighted remnant here is
not the godly remnant, but the remnant of the city’s population, i.e., those
unbelievers who will have survived the earthquake. Others have pointed out that terror prompts them to give glory to
the God of heaven, but it doesn’t lead them to acknowledge Him as the God
also of the earth. This earthquake
judgment ends the second woe.
11:14.
“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
11:15.
“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.”
This announcement of heaven
seems to bring us to almost the end of the Tribulation, since it is evident that that
era of judgment is the preparation for the inauguration of Christ’s millennial
reign.
Others have pointed out that
the better rendering of this verse is “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom
(not kingdoms) of our Lord....” The
kingdoms of this world which are the kingdom of Satan, are yet to become the kingdom
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Under His
beneficent reign the whole earth will be one kingdom rather than the many into which
man’s mistrust of man has divided it, though it is necessary to note that in the
Millennium there will continue to be separate nations, but they will constitute one
kingdom: Christ’s.
“And he shall reign for ever
and ever,” declares that the reign of Christ will not end at the conclusion of the
Millennium, but will continue eternally over the new heavens and the new earth.
11:16.
“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats
(thrones), fell upon their faces, and worshiped God,”
11:17.
“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.”
As was noted in our study of
chapter four, these twenty-four elders appear to represent believers of the Church
age only, and not, as some have suggested, believers of the OT age as well.
This absence of the OT saints from the heavenly scene would remind us that we
have not yet been brought right to the end of the Tribulation era, for clearly the OT
age saints and the Tribulation martyrs have not yet been resurrected. The grateful worship of these raptured Church age saints, evoked
by God’s bringing to an end the misrule of man, reminds us that however much the
evil of man’s rule may be recognized here on earth, its utter evil will be
comprehended fully only when viewed in the light of heaven.
“... because thou hast taken
to thee thy great power, and hast reigned,” seems to imply an accomplished rather
than anticipated reign, but as Dr. Morris suggests, “The use of the past tense
arises because the event is certain. It
is as good as having occurred.”
11:18.
“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.”
History, in reality, is the
record of the angry rebellion of man against the government of God, for however much
it may appear to be the chronicle of man in conflict with man, the truth is that it
is the record of man in conflict with God. But it won’t be until the armies of earth are gathered in the
plain of Megiddo, and the battle of Armageddon begins near the end of the
Tribulation, that that fact will be clearly revealed, as former foes unite to do
battle with Christ and the armies of heaven.
A patient God has borne long
with man’s anger, but when that patience gives place to wrath, human anger will be
revealed for the puny thing it is, and man will learn that his anger has brought his
own destruction. The outcome of the
Armageddon conflict will be that the dead bodies of the armies of earth will become
God’s banquet for the birds, see Re 19:11-21.
“... and the time of the
dead, that they should be judged.” This
undoubtedly has reference to the judgment of the nations following the Tribulation,
the dead being the physically alive but unbelieving (spiritually dead) survivors from
all the nations, following the battle of Armageddon.
This is the judgment spoken of in Mt 25:31-46.
The unbelievers will be assembled on the Lord’s left as goats; believers on
his right as sheep. As a result of this
judgment, these spiritually dead (goats) “... shall go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous (sheep, the Tribulation-age believers who will have
physically survived its devastation) into life eternal” (Mt 25:46).
For these righteous, the enjoyment of that eternal life will be first here on
earth in the Millennium, and then for ever when the new heavens and the new earth
will have replaced those which now exist, Re 21:1, for it is to be remembered that
those who remain on the earth as the Tribulation gives place to the Millennium, will
never die. They will pass from the
millennial earth into the new earth.
It is clear, however, that
those to be rewarded, “the prophets ... the saints, and them that fear thy
name....” include also the resurrected saints of the OT and Tribulation eras.
These three categories embrace all the redeemed of Israel, for it must not be
forgotten that the Church age is but an interlude in God’s program for the ultimate
blessing of His earthly people Israel, the seven years of the Tribulation being
simply the conclusion of Daniel’s seventy weeks (of prophetic years), i.e., 490
Jewish years of 360 days each, an era that began on March 14, 445 B.C. with the
decree of Artaxerxes which ended the Babylonian captivity, and which was interrupted
at the end of sixty-nine “weeks” (483 years) on April 6, 32 A.D., the day when
Christ rode into Jerusalem on the ass’s colt, presenting Himself to Israel as the
Messiah, as foretold by the prophet, “... behold thy King cometh unto thee ...
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zec 9:9).
God, however, foreknew Israel’s
rejection of Christ. The Church age of
two thousand years (two days by divine reckoning), and soon to end, has intervened.
A brief interval will follow the rapture of the Church.
The Roman beast ruler will then sign the seven-year treaty or covenant with
Israel, the day of its signing being that on which the prophetic clock will begin to
tick again, and God, by means of the Tribulation judgments, will conclude His program
for Israel’s blessing, the day of Christ’s return in glory to establish His
millennial kingdom, being exactly seven years of 360 days each, from the day that
treaty is signed.
The distinction between the
prophets and the other two groups of Jewish-age (Old Testament and Tribulation-age)
believers, may be due to the fact that the prophets, in the faithful execution of
their office, were almost invariably the objects of the mockery, hatred, and
murderous persecution of the unbelieving rebellious majority of the nation of Israel.
Their eternal reward will be great. Their
being distinguished from the other Jewish-age believers, should encourage us of this
present age, to greater faithfulness in the discharge of our own service.
God sets a high value on loyalty.
The distinction between “the
saints” and “them that fear thy name” may be that the former are those
believers who will have died in the OT and Tribulation eras; the latter, those
believers still living at the end of the Tribulation.
The reference to “small and
great” reminds us that God uses all kinds of believers.
He fits each one of us for the sphere of service to which He appoints us.
There is a place in His great plan for the illiterate as well as the educated;
for the poor as well as the rich. The
saint capable of presenting the Gospel to the prince, is not necessarily capable of a
similar ministry to the peasant. It is
the privilege of each of us to present himself to God as a vessel suitable for the
Master’s use.
“... and shouldest destroy
them which destroy (corrupt) the earth.” These
appear to be those whose judgment is mentioned at the beginning of this verse, and we
should note that here “destroy” has reference to a state of eternal torment, not
annihilation.
11:19.
“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.”
Some scholars maintain that
verse 19 is properly the first verse of chapter 12, but since it appears in its
present location in many Bibles, we will discuss it here.
Until there has been
fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel relative to earthly blessing, the
heavenly original of the earthly temple will exist in heaven.
It is significant, however, that the focus is upon the ark rather than the
temple itself, for the ark is inseparably linked with the testament or covenant which
assures Israel of earthly blessings to be followed by those which are eternal.
When time has given place to the eternal state there will be no need of
temporal symbols such as temple and ark. The
earthly blessings associated with them will have been succeeded by the better, the
eternal, and clearly the blessings of the Millennium are but the precursors of those
which are eternal.
The “lightnings ... voices
... thunderings ... and an earthquake, and great hail,” accompanying the opening of
the heavenly temple, are invariably associated with divine wrath and judgment, here
reminding us that there can be no blessing for man or nation until judgment has
brought confession of sin and true repentance.
[Revelation 12]
