This Wednesday, just gone, we celebrated and remembered Remembrance Day.
We spent time remembering that there was thousands of young men who saw the evil carried out in the name of conquest and signed up.
Signed up to go to war and to give their bodies and lives to see people and nations saved.
In 2017, a young man by the name of Emmanuel Mensah repeatedly ran into a burning building to save people's lives before ultimately losing his own life.
In 1665, when the bubonic plague was spreading across the world, one town chose suffering to see lives saved.
The town is called Iam, I think that's how you pronounce it, E-Y-A-M in England, a town of about 800 people.
They chose to quarantine themselves off from the important trade routes around them when the plague came.
And so over 14 months, they lost 260 of 800 of their residents.
But their self-sacrifice resulted in victory.
Nobody outside the village contracted the disease.
They doomed themselves to pestilential death to save the surrounding country.
Victory came through suffering.
And there is a pattern here that extends throughout life and life beyond death.
Victory comes when I put to death my own pride and arrogance.
When I choose to love other people.
I win as a friend when I'm really busy.
But I choose to give up my time to help someone else.
I win as a dad when I put to death my annoyance with my kids.
And choose to sit and engage with them.
Today, as we continue to look through the book of Revelation,
John sees a vision of the future of the church.
A future of victory through suffering.
The same victory that Jesus won in his sacrificial death and resurrection,
the church would also be part of.
And a challenge for us today would be to see that that is the ultimate victory.
Victory through suffering.
And then continue to put to death the things that hold us back.
Our personal preferences, our pride and our sin.
And to have life in Christ.
Because that is the victorious Christian life.
We're looking at a really strange and detailed part of Revelation.
All of it's fairly detailed and, you know, it's got some strange things going on.
But today we're going to work our way slowly through Revelation 11,
looking at the various images to understand what this meant in its context
and what it means for us as well.
We're going to see three things as we go through this this morning.
We're going to see that God has protected his church.
He's protected his church because the church is also persecuted.
But God will ultimately vindicate them.
I couldn't think of a third P.
So it's God protects his church because it's persecuted.
And then finally the church is vindicated.
So let me pray for us as we get into Revelation 11.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word to us today.
I thank you that we can read your word without fear of persecution in this country.
But Lord, as we look through the detail, help it not bog us down,
but to see the amazing victory that you have for us through the suffering of Christ
and how we too can have life because of Jesus.
Amen.
Please have your Bibles open.
It's wonderful to see some people with their Bibles open on their laps,
on your phone.
Make sure it's the app and the Bible.
If you get distracted, you know, turn your notifications off.
We're in Revelation chapter 11 and we'll start in verse 1
where we see John is shown a vision of the temple.
Have a look with me.
I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told,
go and measure the temple of God and the altar with its worshippers.
But exclude the outer court.
Do not measure it because it is being given to the Gentiles.
They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
In the Old Testament, the temple is the place where God met with his people.
It was where sacrifices were made.
It was where the high priest went once a year to make sacrifice
and it was built to the exact measurements that God said.
But the image here is not of the Old Testament temple.
Rather, it is of the church.
1 Corinthians chapter 3 tells us that now,
after Jesus' death and resurrection,
the church is the temple.
It is not the building.
We are the people of God.
This building is wonderful that it allows us to meet,
but God has made us his temple.
We are the place where God meets.
He sends his spirit and he dwells in us.
The outer court is left to be trampled by the Gentiles.
Now, again, with this language of Gentiles,
we know that God has broken down the wall of hostility
between God's people, the Jews,
and has now brought the Gentiles in.
We are united together as a church.
That is the amazing news of the gospel,
that those, the Gentiles, me,
those who are far away from God, his enemy,
have now been brought into his family.
But the outer court here is a picture of those who are God's enemies now.
Those kingdoms, those armies arrayed against God,
those who are against God.
And they will attack God's people for 42 months.
This points back to a prophecy from Daniel.
Without getting too much into the specifics,
42 months is three and a half years.
And in the book of Daniel,
there's a prophecy that at the end of a time,
times, and half a time, the end would come.
So a time is a reference to a year.
And so a year and two years and another half a year is 42 months.
Now, this is pointing to the fact that there will be persecution
come against the church from those who are against God,
but it is for a season.
It doesn't go on forever.
This season is controlled by God.
And whatever people do against God's people,
God will protect them.
Even though there is persecution,
God will protect his people.
And John sees God appoint two particular people to be witnesses.
They're referred to also as lampstands.
So John is describing the church who are going to be persecuted,
and they have a job to witness to the world what God has done.
He's described as two witnesses because in Deuteronomy,
we see that in court,
you need to have two witnesses to be reliable.
So these two witnesses are a reliable witness to what God has done,
and the church are lampstands to shine God's light into a chaotic and dark world.
We are to witness to what God has done in history,
through Jesus,
and in our lives.
And we've been seeing over the last five weeks what God has been doing in people's lives.
It's been wonderful to see, even today,
what God has been doing in people's lives,
and to witness to what God has done.
The church is to witness,
to preach,
to share what God has been doing for 1,260 days.
That's the same reference as the 42 months.
Clothed in sackcloth,
as a sign of grieving,
to call people to repent.
This time will be over.
Your time for repentance will be over.
Repent now.
Follow the Lord now.
But this church also has been given great power to protect itself.
There's this wonderful imagery.
Verse 5.
Have a look with me.
If anyone tries to harm them,
fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.
This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die.
They have power to shut up the heavens,
so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying.
And they have power to turn the waters into blood,
to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
Power to cause plagues.
Power to shut up the sky.
These are pictures of Moses and Elijah,
the two great heroes of the Old Testament.
We are now engaged in a very different kind of ministry.
I've never seen anybody have fire come from their mouth.
But what this point is,
it's saying that the work we are now involved in,
being part of God's mission,
is every part as powerful as the great heroes of old.
They brought plagues.
They brought locusts.
They brought fire.
They stopped rain.
They turned rivers into blood.
But with the preaching of the good news of Jesus,
we bring either eternal life or eternal death.
That's what I'm doing standing right here now,
proclaiming the gospel,
preaching the good news.
That's what you do when you read the Bible with a friend.
When you read it with your children,
you are preaching and witnessing to what God has done
to bring eternal life or eternal death.
Seeing God's mighty power work through his word.
God has sent us to be on about his mission
with the very words of life.
God is working to protect us now
so that we can continue to be his witnesses.
The vision given to John summarizes the glory of following God,
that mighty and wonderful things happen,
that people's lives are saved,
but it also paints a picture of the pain of existence
in this present evil world.
For we are in this 42 months.
We are still in this time between Jesus' resurrection and his return,
the time that we have to witness,
to continue to proclaim the good news.
And this time we are protected by God
because nothing can separate us from his love in Christ Jesus.
And yet those who are in the family of God
are protected because we need protected.
Very much like a soldier goes into war wearing armor
because of the need to be defended from attack,
we need to be protected from attack too.
Life in this tension is not easy,
and yet God is with us,
guarding us, guiding us,
nourishing and strengthening us
until the very end.
We need protection because John is going to paint a picture
of persecution coming for the church.
Second point today, persecution.
Have a look with me in verse 7.
Now, when they had finished their testimony,
the beast that comes up from the abyss
will attack them and overpower and kill them.
Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city,
which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt,
where also their Lord was crucified.
The witnesses who were protected
are now killed by a satanic power.
It takes place in Sodom and Egypt
and also where the Lord was crucified.
And it says it's figuratively.
So we get this picture that the church is suffering
against those who have arrayed themselves against God.
Historically, Sodom was against God.
Egypt was against God's people
and the place where Jesus was crucified
was against God and his people.
The world who is opposed to God
wants to shame Christians.
It was a picture of these two witnesses killed
and then their bodies are left in the public square.
They are left for days
and they're not buried,
which in the ancient world would have brought great shame
to their families and those associated with them.
The church is attacked,
maligned,
scorned,
dishonored by those who oppose God.
The very ones that we are called to witness to.
Verse 9.
For three and a half days,
some from every people, tribe, language and nation
will gaze on their bodies
and refuse them burial.
That phrase,
every people, tribe, language and nation,
we saw that in Revelation 7 last week
when we saw that
there would be a multitude of people
from every tribe, nation and tongue
praising God
and now those people
that Christians are called to witness to,
to the whole world,
some of those people
are gazing on the bodies of those two who have died
and refusing burial.
They're giving themselves presents.
They are just so ecstatic
that these Christians have been killed.
The church had been tormented
because they had been tormenting others.
This is what happens when you preach the good news
to those who don't want to hear it.
People don't find it easy to just say,
oh, I'm not interested.
The Christian gospel can actually also torment people.
John the Baptist called Herod
to not marry his brother's wife
and he was beheaded.
Jesus himself called the Jews
not to have a legalistic,
half-hearted devotion to God
and they crucified him.
He had the words of life.
He was God
and they did not like to hear those things.
It tormented them
and so they killed him.
The world cannot bear
to have its evil condemned.
Have you ever seen a loved one
making bad choices
that won't end well?
Do you risk criticizing
what they're doing
out of care and love?
Even when that person
doesn't want to hear it,
it's much more comfortable
not to say anything.
But it is not comfortable
losing that person's life.
It is very comfortable
to not share the gospel.
To not share the gospel
on the front lines
with our friends,
with our family.
I see you making these choices
and chasing after these things.
You think these things
will satisfy you
but they won't.
but I don't want to say anything.
I see you chasing these things
but only Jesus will satisfy
and if I bring that up
it will make for an awkward
family dinner at Christmas.
It is much more comfortable
to not face the shame
from sharing the gospel
and being persecuted.
Can you imagine
being a Christian
and seeing people
do what happens in verse 10?
The inhabitants of the earth
will gloat over them
and celebrate
by sending gifts
to each other
because these two prophets
had tormented
those who live on the earth.
It looks like a painful future
to be a Christian.
But God doesn't leave
his people on the ground
beaten and defeated.
He vindicates them.
Our third point today,
vindication.
Verse 11
But after the three and a half days
but after three and a half days
the breath of life
from God entered them
and they stood up
on their feet
and terror
struck those who saw them.
Then they heard
a loud voice from heaven
saying to them
come up here
and they went up to heaven
in a cloud
while their enemies
looked on.
Those who had been
struck down
beaten,
mocked,
killed,
shamed in front of everybody
are brought to life
and lifted up
in front of everybody.
God's spirit
has brought them
back to life.
They have been vindicated
in the public square
shown
to have been
in the right
to follow God
and to proclaim
his good news.
Now,
this is one of the passages
in Revelation
that has a lot of detail
including specific
time references
that people can often
see this
as a literal
linear timeline.
There are going to be
two witnesses who come
and then it's going to go
for 42 months
and then people are going
to be lifted up
to heaven.
Now,
I don't believe
that this is
a literal timeline.
It's a symbolic way
for John to show
that God has vindicated
his people.
God protects those
who are persecuted
and vindicates.
He will vindicate.
God has shown
his people
to be innocent.
His people
in public
in plain view
of those who rejoiced
over his deaths.
And the amazing thing
is that in verse 13
it says that the people
who saw this
gave glory
to God.
God sent
an earthquake
a sign of judgment.
People died
but people also
gave glory
to God.
He saves people too.
I believe that this
is more of a pattern
of history
rather than
an exact timeline
for what will happen.
The church
is called
to witness
to the gospel.
The church
is persecuted,
martyred,
scorned,
mocked
and at times
it seems like
the church
is done.
The cause of Christ
is defeated.
God is dead
they cry.
Those who follow him,
those Christians,
well they're dying out.
but God's spirit
breathes life
into them.
Picking up imagery
from Ezekiel 37
where dry bones
are revived
and God makes
an army.
God is reviving
his church
to make us
his victorious army.
It happened
to Jesus himself.
He was persecuted,
killed
and yet raised
from the dead.
Stephen in Acts 7
he is persecuted
and killed
but God also
uses that moment
to send
his missionaries
out into the world
to witness
to what God
is doing.
Soviet communism
set out
to crush
the church
but the church
outlived it.
In Ethiopia
between 1975
and 78
President Mengistu
implemented
the Red Terror
where 1.5
million
died
and churches
were closed.
When Mengistu
fell
no one was sure
what had happened
to the Christians.
Were they still there?
They didn't know.
But Christians
had been meeting
in homes
and not only survived
but had grown.
In 1900
the Boxer Rebellion
in China
saw over 200
missionaries killed
and over 30,000
Chinese people killed
and yet
God breathed life
to what seemed dead.
The same thing
happened again
in China
after the Cultural Revolution.
In the face
of hostile powers
the story
of Jesus
repeats itself
in the church.
The church
witnesses to God.
There is persecution
death
and what looks like
defeat
but God
breathes life
and the church
grows.
Victory
comes
through suffering.
Victory
comes through suffering.
It is
God's chosen
weapon
against the forces
of evil.
Faithful people
are sustained
by the power
of the Spirit
of God.
Victory
came through suffering.
Life
comes
through death.
Last week
my family
watched the
1999
classic Disney
movie
Hercules
and I think
the church
is like
a mythical beast
that I saw
in that movie.
not the phoenix
that rises
from the ashes
although that might
be apt
but I think
the church
is really
like the
ancient
hydra.
The hydra
is a dragon
like beast
and what
would happen
is a head
would be cut
off
and two more
heads
would grow
back.
You should
go and watch
this scene
in the movie
Hercules
but I think
this is an apt
picture of the
church.
There is suffering
and persecution
but victory
comes through
suffering.
The church
grows
because suffering
and persecution
is God's
weapon against
the world
his tool
to see
the church
grow.
Our victory
comes through
Jesus' suffering
his death
and his
resurrection
and I think
it also works
in the church
broadly
as we've seen
the church
grows
but
also in our
death
and resurrection
with Christ
each day.
For us as a
church
and individuals
preaching Christ
in Chatswood
and on our
front lines
with our
family and
friends
we are not
yet at the
point of
shedding blood
not yet at the
point of shedding
blood here
but death
and resurrection
is the way
that we are
saved
and it is
also the
pattern of
our lives
and the
weapon to
see our
lives
shaped for
Christ
and to see
people
saved
Jesus
said that
whoever wishes
to save
his life
will lose
it
but whoever
loses
his life
for my
sake
will find
it
the pattern
of a
Christian
follows this
same pattern
of victory
through suffering
we die
we die to
ourself
and we
live
to Christ
Paul says
in 2
Corinthians 4
that he's
hard pressed
his body
is being
given over
to death
so that
life might
be revealed
the call
of Jesus
to us
to his
disciples
is to
die
to yourself
surrender
your career
and future
prospects
surrender
your status
and reputation
surrender
your desires
to have
everything
that society
tells you
you must
have
the newest
and the best
you see
those sins
of pride
and lust
and arrogance
put them
to death
so that
Jesus
is the
priority
and he
sets the
direction
for your
life
he gives
life
because the
idols we
chase
won't
embrace
the death
of chasing
career
put to
death
the chasing
after self
worth
on your
own
live to
the worth
of Christ
who died
for you
and valued
you above
his own
life
whenever
we
we give
money
to the
church
for the
sake of
the gospel
whenever we
give of our
time
our talents
our treasures
you are
dying to
yourself
and you
are dying
to building
your own
kingdom
and God
gives life
and he
and we
get to be
satisfied in
him
whenever we
choose to
witness to
a friend
we are
dying to
ourself
and our
own
comfort
to see
a loved
one
saved
and God
gives life
whenever you
pick up your
bible and
read it
choose
trying to
do
to read
your bible
four or
more times
to see
growth in
your life
in Christ
whenever you
pick up your
bible and
read it
you are
putting to
death
your own
control
of your
life
and saying
God
you are
the one
who
gives me
life
you are
the one
who leads
me
I will
obey you
and you
give me
life
whenever you
are faced
with sin
and choose
to obey
God
you put
to death
the idea
that you
know what's
best
you worship
Jesus
as the
king
every
moment
of dying
to self
and choosing
God
is a
moment
of life
by the
spirit
this is
God's
weapon
to build
his
kingdom
this is
God's
weapon
to build
himself
in us
and across
the world
let me pray
heavenly father
we thank you
for this
reminder from
revelation 11
that you
do protect
us
because we
will be
persecuted
but we
thank you
that you
will
indeed
vindicate
us
help us
not chase
that in
our own
time
but wait
patiently
for your
son to
return
heavenly father
we ask
that each
day we
live we
would live
for you
and we
would die
to ourselves
fill us
with your
spirit
help us
to do
that
so that
we would
have more
of you
so that
we would
love you
more
that we
would
treasure
you
more
and so
that we
would see
many
come to
know and
love you
we ask
this in
your son's
name and
all for
your glory
amen