Let's say that we had the opportunity to ask Jeremiah while he was in the cistern.
Jeremiah!
Yeah?
Hey, why are you in the cistern?
I'm here because I've been declaring God's message to a people under judgment so that they would be saved.
Jeremiah!
Yeah?
Is it worth it?
Yes.
What are you willing to suffer for?
Maybe if you've got a gluten allergy, you find yourself asking the question,
if I eat this cake, I'm going to suffer for it.
Is it worth it?
For those of you who have to endure pain of physical training for an athletic contest,
you suffer for the sake of winning, you suffer for the sake of maybe just even finishing,
got to ask the question, is it worth it?
Those serving in the armed forces, sitting on a post under the threat of enemy attack,
you're risking your life for the good of your country, is it worth it?
A woman who goes into labor and experiences a lot of pain in the delivery of childbirth,
you suffer trauma to have a baby, oh, it's so worth it.
Parents, you know what it's like to be sleep deprived, peace deprived, respect deprived as you raise your children.
Is all that deprivation worth it?
To see Christ's character form in your child, yes.
What are you willing to suffer for?
I think that there are many American Christians
who have been surprised to find out
that they weren't told something
when they began to follow Jesus.
And what was that?
That in order for you to obey Jesus and all that He commanded you,
it will require you to suffer for Him.
And it's not fine print in your Bible.
Jesus hasn't instructed His disciples,
okay, bring people to Me,
and then after two years, after they're settled,
then show them the fine print that it gets really hard.
Now, Jesus was very upfront in it.
In Matthew 5, in the greatest sermon ever preached,
the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus says one of His beatitudes,
one of the characteristics of a follower of Jesus
is that they will suffer for Jesus,
be persecuted for His name's sake,
and they will be blessed by that.
2 Timothy 3.12,
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
So, why I'm bringing this up is
suffering as a result of following Jesus
isn't fine print in your Bible.
We, the American church,
just tends to leave it out
thinking that nobody in their right mind
would become a Christian
if they knew it may cost them dearly.
Let me put it this way.
Biblically speaking,
it's not,
it's suffering for Jesus
is the exception,
not the norm.
No, I said that wrong.
Suffering for Jesus is the norm,
not the exception.
In fact,
if you're not catching flack for Jesus,
it should raise this question,
are you actually living for Jesus?
What are you willing to suffer for?
In Revelation chapter 11,
verses 1 through 14,
we're going to see
Christ's prophetic church
being a suffering church.
A prophetic church
is a suffering church.
Just as our Lord Jesus has suffered,
so will we.
Now, since September of 2018,
we've been getting a steady IV drip
of the book of Revelation.
And the purpose of this IV drip
into the body of Christ
is the IV drip
of the book of Revelation
is to strengthen
a church
that is being,
facing difficulty
in following Jesus
and proclaiming the truth
of who He is
and what He's done.
The book of Revelation
is designed to drip courage
into the hearts
of suffering saints.
It's 22 chapters
of biblical courage
for those saints
encountering hardship.
And the way that the book
of Revelation gets into your veins
is it gets into you graphically.
It's vision after vision
given to John
who writes down
and passes on to us.
We are to imbibe this
through our imaginations.
And it strikes us.
It's designed to encourage us.
Two weeks ago,
I walked us through
the seven trumpet judgments
in chapters 8 and 9
and the last half
of chapter 11.
And in between
the sixth and seventh trumpet
is what scholars call
an interlude.
And it's the second interlude
that we've experienced
because the first interlude
was between the sixth
and seventh seal.
And the interlude
between the sixth
and seventh seal
answered a question.
Do you remember
what the question was?
On the day of God's wrath,
all those who dwell
on the earth
who don't know,
who aren't following Jesus,
ask this question.
Who is able to stand?
And chapter 7
answers the question.
The church,
the blood bought of Christ,
those sealed
with the seal
of the living God
on their foreheads,
they are the ones
who stand
on that day,
safeguarded
in the presence
of God.
The first interlude
was about the church
and so was
the second interlude.
The first interlude
answers the question,
who is this people?
Who can stand?
The second interlude,
chapter 10
and the first half
of 11,
which we're looking
at today,
that answers
the question,
what is the church
to do
as judgment
heats up
on the earth?
To be Christ's
prophetic church
means we will also
be Christ's
suffering church.
Revelation 11,
1 through 14
prepares us
for the increasing
suffering
to come.
I don't think
that we're in
the sixth trumpet.
Because there's
not this
worldwide persecution
of Christians
across the board.
But I think
we're on our way.
This vision
unfolds
in four scenes.
Scene 1,
the church measured.
Scene 2,
the church prophetic.
Scene 3,
the church suffering.
And scene 4,
the church vindicated.
Come up here.
So in order
to help you
understand
that Christ's
prophetic church
is Christ's
suffering church,
let's look
at this
first scene,
the church measured.
11,
chapter 11,
verses 1 and 2.
Now,
I've got to set it up.
In chapter 10,
John has been given
a scroll to eat
by an angel
in its classic
symbolism
of the calling
of a prophet.
In verse 11,
he is required
to proclaim
the contents
of that scroll
which is God's plan
for the fullness
of time realized
in Jesus.
And he's told
you must again
prophesy that
to all people.
Chapter 11,
verse 1,
after being given
the scroll to eat
and the call
to prophesy,
he is given
a measuring rod
to measure something,
verse 1,
and not to measure
something else.
verse 2.
And the backdrop
of all this
measuring business
are two Old Testament
passages,
Ezekiel chapter 40
through the end
of the book
and Zechariah chapter 2.
And in both
those passages,
God
has an angel
measure
the temple
and it's a picture
of God dwelling
with his people.
We see the measurement
of the temple
in verse 1
that measure
the temple of God,
the altar
and those who worship
there,
which is a really
interesting way
to talk about that.
The temple of God
represented God's
presence
among his people
all throughout
the Old Testament.
God dwelling
with his people.
And by the time
you get to the New Testament,
God has a new
dwelling place.
It's not bricks
and mortar.
It is his people.
And if you want
to look at Ephesians 2,
19 through 20,
take a look at that.
It's a compelling picture
of the church
as God's temple
indwelt
by the Holy Spirit.
But just to let you know,
I'm just not
importing this
into the book
of Revelation.
Would you flip back
to Revelation 3
to the church
of Philadelphia?
This was a faithful church.
Chapter 3,
verse 12.
Jesus,
the risen,
reigning,
and radiant one
says this
to this church.
Verse 12.
The one who conquers,
I will make him
a pillar
in the temple
of my God.
He's talking to a
primarily Gentile church.
I'll make him
a pillar
in the temple
of my God.
I will build him
into my temple,
my people.
And then he goes on
to say,
I will write on him
the name of my God
in the name
of the city
of my God,
the New Jerusalem.
The Philadelphia church
is being considered
the temple of God,
the city of God.
God.
And when John
is told to measure
the temple here,
he's talking about
measuring a people,
those who worship God.
So what's this measuring
business all about?
Well, let me ask you this.
What effect does measuring
have on you?
Let's say you want
to build a house,
you've got this great idea
for a house,
and you're like,
yeah, this is going
to be really cool.
And then one day,
all of a sudden,
the blueprints come in
and you get to see
the measurements
of this house
you're about to build.
You know what happens
right at that point?
Things get real.
You start seeing
how big things is.
You start understanding
what's required.
The building material.
Measuring makes things real.
And what John is to measure,
the inner court of the temple,
which is the sanctuary,
the altar.
Remember, the altar
is where those saints
who've been martyred,
their blood is lying
underneath that.
And those who worship there,
it's again this hint
that we're talking
more than bricks and mortar.
He's to measure a people.
Now, if you're wondering,
well, maybe he's being told
to measure the temple
that's in Jerusalem.
Well, the thing is,
that was destroyed
25 years before this was penned
in 70 A.D. by Rome.
God's people
are His very dwelling place now.
The church is the place
where God dwells
and He knows
who His people are.
And so what this is a picture of
is a picture of God
knowing who is His own.
It's a picture of security.
What John is not to measure
is the outer court of the temple.
Now, don't make the mistake
of thinking now
the outer court
is somehow not the church.
It is.
Because the outer court
is considered part of the
holy city.
Do you see that in verse 2?
which is the church.
So why?
What's being communicated here?
If the inner court
is a picture of security,
God knows who His worshipers are.
The measuring of the outer court
which is going to be trampled
by the nations
of those who
don't follow Jesus,
it's a picture
of suffering.
The first measuring
picture is of security.
God knows us.
He's with us.
And the second is
of being trampled.
Of God's people suffering.
The outer court of the temple
is now depicted
in verse 2
as still being part
of the holy city
and yet that holy city
is not named.
The holy city does get named
later in the book of Revelation.
Chapter 21, 1-2.
The name is the new Jerusalem.
God dwelling with His people
finally and forever.
The holy city
that is being referenced here
is God's people.
And so right here
in chapter 11,
verses 1 and 2,
we have this picture
of God's people
as a temple
and a city
secure with God
because He's with us
and yet at the same time
we're going to be trampled
by the nations.
It is a simultaneous
picture of being secure
and suffering.
So during the time
of the sixth trumpet,
God's people,
the church,
will be secure
yet they will suffer.
And it's true now.
Did you notice that
the suffering
takes place
for a designated time?
It says,
they will trample
the holy city
for 42 months.
You're like,
what's that all about?
Well, it's interesting
because those 42 months
have a reference
way back
in the book of Daniel,
chapter 7.
But
the same reference
is made
in the very next verse.
And I will grant authority
to my two witnesses
and they will prophesy
for 1,260 days.
And you're thinking,
wait,
42 months
is not the same
as 1,260 days.
Well, actually,
in antiquity,
one month was 30 days,
one year was 360 days.
So if you multiply
42 times 30,
do you know
what number you get?
1260.
They're different numbers,
but they're talking
about the same amount
of time.
Here's why that's
significant
because there's
another number.
If you flip over
to chapter 12,
verse 14,
you read this.
But the woman
was given to
the two wings
of the great eagle
so that she might
fly from the serpent
into the wilderness
to the place
where she is to
be nourished
for a time
and times
and a half time.
Now,
now it's an explicit
reference to Daniel.
If you flip back
to Daniel,
Daniel chapter 7,
right after Ezekiel,
verse 25,
Daniel has just
been given a vision.
It's being interpreted
by an angel.
And this angel said,
verse 25,
he shall speak words
against the most high.
He's speaking about
the beast
that raises,
comes up from the earth.
He shall speak words
against the most high
and he shall wear out
the saints
of the most high
and shall think
to change the times
and the law
and they shall be
given into his hand
for a time,
times,
and a half time.
Classically understood
as three and a half years.
It's representative
of a set amount
of time.
Do you know what happens
when you divide
42 months
by 12 months?
You get three and a half years.
Do you know what happens
when you divide
1260,
divide by 360 days?
You get three and a half years.
These are all
different figures
communicating the same
amount of time.
So now the question becomes,
well, what does
three and a half have?
What's that all about?
Well, three and a half
is half of what?
Seven.
And what do we know
about the number seven?
It's fullness,
completion.
And so what is being
communicated in this number
is God has a plan.
Daniel 7.
And for a short amount
of time,
God's people will suffer.
It's a temporary
amount of time.
It's not going to be forever.
John is saying
that the trampling
of the church
for 42 months
is the realization
of Daniel 7.25.
Now what's also interesting
is if you look at
back in Revelation 13.5,
you're going to read
about the beast.
We're going to see him
in a little bit.
And the beast
was given a mouth
uttering haughty
and blasphemous words
and it was allowed
to exercise authority
for 42 months,
three and a half years.
It opened its mouth
to utter blasphemies
against God,
blaspheming his name
and his dwelling.
That is,
those who dwell in heaven.
Did you see that?
Also,
it was allowed
to make war
on the saints
and to conquer them.
The beast
in chapter 13
is waging war
on God's people,
his dwelling place.
And what we're seeing
in chapter 11
a little bit
is the same beast
is making the same warfare
on two witnesses,
the church.
But I'm getting ahead
of myself.
Why?
If this temple,
this city
that we're reading about
in Revelation 11,
1 and 2,
if this is the church,
why are they suffering?
Why are they being trampled?
Of course,
it's fulfillment
of Daniel 7,
but it's more than that.
The church is prophetic.
And we see that explanation
in the next few verses
in chapter 11,
verses 3 through 6.
So,
we've gone from
the church measured
now to the church prophetic.
Who the church is
to now what the church does.
Now,
I'm guessing
that what I'm about to say,
many of you
have not heard before
because you've been brought up
in churches
that have taught
that the two witnesses
are two literal people,
Moses and Elijah,
who have come back
from the dead
to prophesy.
Well,
that's a possible way
to explain this passage,
but I don't think
it's accurate.
And I've got a number
of reasons why.
I'm going to give you
two right now.
I believe that
the two witnesses
are a symbolic description
of the church,
the blood-bought people
of God
living at this point
in history
called to be prophetic.
The first reason
is contextual.
And remember
what we were just talking about
in chapter 11,
1 and 2,
we were just talking about
the temple
and the holy city
as being the church.
And so,
when John moves
from talking about
the holy city,
the temple,
the church,
into verse 3,
and now two witnesses,
I'm going to argue
he hasn't changed
the subject matter.
He's still talking
about the church.
He has just switched
the symbolism.
And now we've got
to ask the question,
why the symbolism
of two witnesses?
Now, typically,
we will think,
okay,
tell me who
these two witnesses are.
Are they Elijah
and Moses?
Who are these
two witnesses?
Don't think
in terms of
individuals.
Think in terms
of concept,
the two witness concept.
Do you know anything
from your Bible
that talks about
the importance
of having two witnesses?
Deuteronomy 19.15,
only on the evidence
of two witnesses
shall a charge
be established.
What's being pictured here
is that the church
is being symbolically
described as two witnesses
establishing
a legal truth claim,
prophesying
of the contents
of the scroll.
God's plan
for the fullness
of time
realized in Jesus.
It's a description
of the church's
function
during the time
immediately
preceding
final judgment,
trumpet seven.
It's true of us
now as well.
The interlude
between
seal six
and seal seven,
seal six
and seal seven
answers the question
who can stand?
And what we're
seeing here
is the interlude
between the six
and seven trumpet
is addressing
what is the church
to do?
We're to witness,
bear testimony
as two witnesses
to the truth
of the gospel.
Now,
I
want you to notice
something.
In verse two,
we're told
that
that the holy city
is going to be trampled
for 42 months
and then in verse three,
the two witnesses
are to prophesy
for 1260 days.
It's the same amount
of time,
so you know
what that means.
While we suffer,
we prophesy.
This interlude
is about the church
and what we must be doing.
They're not two literal people,
Moses and Elijah,
having come back.
It's the church
bearing witness,
prophesying
of the judgment
to come
with all
of the authority
of Moses
and Elijah.
That's why
they're there.
Verse three,
these two witnesses
are given authority.
The church
is given authority
to pronounce judgment
on all those
unwilling to repent
of their idolatry.
Just like
Elijah five
in the first part
of six,
we've been given
authority to call
down fire.
We've been given
authority to shut
up the heavens.
We've been given
Moses-like authority
calling down plagues.
These are things
that we've already
seen in the seals
and the trumpets gang.
This is not a new authority
that's being given
to us.
This is an authority
that was given
to the church
way back
when Jesus
walked the earth.
Matthew 16,
speaking to
Simon Peter,
he says,
here are the keys
to the kingdom,
baby.
What you locks
locked,
what you opens
opened up.
That's the kind
of authority
that we're talking
about.
Now,
it seems odd
to us
today
because we
typically do not
think of ourselves
as having been
given this kind
of authority.
But we've been
given it.
We are prophesying
a judgment
and what you're
going to see
in the verses
to come,
particularly in
verse 10,
that content
of what we
proclaim,
it torments
people who
don't have
ears to hear.
In verse 3,
you notice
that the church
is wearing
sackcloth,
these two
witnesses,
at the end.
It reflects
the message
of repentance
that we declare.
for a relatively
short period
of time,
the church
is going
to suffer
intense
suffering,
the trampling.
But the church
is secure
amidst its
suffering,
and while
we suffer,
we must
prophesy
repentance
in the face
of coming
judgment
to those
who dwell
on the earth.
Now,
let me give
you a definition,
a working
definition of
to prophesy.
To prophesy
is to proclaim
God's message
of judgment
to a disobedient
people
so that they
would repent
and be saved
from that
judgment.
And what I want
you to know
right up the
front is
prophesying
is by nature
confrontational.
do you think
of the gospel
as confrontational?
Do you think
of preaching
the gospel
as prophesying
judgment?
It is.
When you tell
someone that
they need
Jesus in order
to be rescued
from God's wrath
for their sin,
you are declaring
a message
of judgment.
When we tell
somebody that
certain attitudes
and actions
are actually
acts of rebellion
against a holy
God that provoke
his wrath,
we're saying
that God
has judged
them and that
they will face
his wrath
and they need
to be rescued
from that.
That's why
they need
Jesus.
the gospel
is God's
message
of salvation
and it
is
confrontational.
It requires
us to
pronounce
judgment
on sinners
so that
they can
understand
their great
need for
an even
greater
savior
who bore
God's wrath
on the cross.
So in our
prophetic calling
as a church,
Christ the
King,
you've got to
hear me out
now.
When we're
given opportunities
to prophesy,
whether it's
you're a prophetic
parent,
or you're given
an opportunity
to speak
the gospel
to someone
at your
workplace
or at the
gym
or somewhere
where you
roam,
we cannot
de-sin
the gospel.
We cannot
out of
love
erase God's
judgment
from our
prophetic
message.
The gospel
requires us
to speak
about God.
It requires
us to speak
about sin.
It requires
us to speak
about his
coming judgment
so that we
can point to
Jesus as a
real savior.
Savior.
This week I
sat down with
someone I
care for a
lot and I
had to say
some hard
things and I
offended this
person greatly.
Oh,
but it was the
most loving
thing I could
do.
because I
know it's
coming.
Our
prophetic
gospel
message
about God,
sin,
judgment,
and Jesus,
it's
offensive.
People don't
want to hear
it and they
don't want to
hear it because
according to
John 1,
they love the
darkness more
than the light.
and just to
deliver you
from any
self-righteousness,
it's only
because of
God's grace
that he
allowed you
to understand
the judgment
that you
were under
so you
could repent.
And so
we prophesy
not as
jerks who
are angry.
We prophesy
as those
who have
been delivered,
who have
been rescued,
who understand
we too
were under
judgment.
So did you
notice that
it's the same
amount of
time that
the church
is trampled,
it's the same
amount of
time the church
is prophesying?
Our
suffering
gives us
opportunity
to preach.
I didn't
even mention
anything about
verse 4.
These are the
two olive trees
and the two
lampstands
that stand
before the
Lord of
the earth.
It's back
to Zechariah
4.
You have
Zerubbabel
and Joshua
portrayed as
these two
olive trees
and there's
this lampstand
in Zechariah
4.
It's two
in John
or in
Revelation
here.
In Zechariah
4 there are
these little
tubes coming
from the
olive trees
and the
olive trees
are perpetually
pumping olive
oil into
this bowl
of the
lampstand
continually
lighting it
up before
God.
That's us.
Lit up
by God
for God
to a people
in darkness.
The prophetic
church
is a suffering
church
to which we
turn now.
In chapter 11
verses 7
through 10
we see a
picture of the
church
suffering.
What do you
think happens
when a
church
filled by
the Spirit
of God
is boldly
and lovingly
prophetically
calling sinners
to repent
to be rescued
from the
judgment to
come?
What do you
think happens
when we
preach sin
judgment
in the need
for Jesus
in the need
to repent?
Some will
repent.
The rest
will resent.
In verse
7
the church
is pictured
as having
finished their
testimony
and when they
have finished
their testimony
the beast
that rises
from the
bottomless pit
will make
war on them.
So when you
read
the church
these two
witnesses
finishing their
testimony
insert Matthew
24 14
and this
gospel of the
kingdom
will be
proclaimed
throughout the
whole world
as a
testimony.
Witnesses do
that.
as a
testimony
to the
nations
and then
the end
will come.
When the
church has
faithfully
completed
the great
commission
we've been
given to
go make
disciples
the beast
rises from
the bottomless
pit
and the
beast
what we
read in
verse 7
it's
brutal.
He will
make war
on the
two witnesses
on the
church
and he
will conquer
them
the two
witnesses
the church
and he
will kill
them
the church
and it
doesn't end
there
and their
dead bodies
literally in the
Greek it's
actually singular
and their dead
body
will lie in
the street of
the great city
that symbolically
is called
Sodom in
Egypt where
their lord
was crucified.
not only
will he
make war
and conquer
and kill
he will
humiliate
the church.
In the
Middle East
when your
body is not
buried
it is
humiliating.
The beast
is introduced
by name
for the first
time in
Revelation
and we're
going to
learn more
about him
in Revelation
13
but suffice
it to say
here's what
you need to
know
he's the
second person
of the
anti-trinity
the first
person of
the anti-trinity
is the
dragon
the second
person of
the anti-trinity
is the
beast
and the
third person
of the
anti-trinity
the false
prophet.
The beast
is the
antichrist
and he is
of whom
Daniel was
speaking in
Daniel chapter
7.
So here
in
Revelation
11
we see
the beast
rise from
his hell
hole
to eradicate
the church
and it
appears as
though he
has been
successful
but we
know that
the church
can never
be destroyed
because Jesus
has said
and the gates
of hell
will not
prevail against
her.
This is
depicting a
time following
the completion
of the church's
mission.
the church
appears to
be defeated
after a
tribulation
so fierce
it appears
as though
the church
is no
more.
Did you
notice where
the bodies
are lying
in verse
8?
In the
street of
the great
city.
Notice the
symbolic names
of this
great city.
Sodom
known
for its
wickedness
and judgment.
Egypt
known
for the
captivity
of God's
people
and judgment.
It's also
one more
description
of the
great city
where the
Lord was
crucified
there being
the church.
It's not
stated but
it's referencing
to Jerusalem
and I find
it interesting
that Jerusalem
is being
associated
with Sodom
and Egypt
and connected
to this
great city.
What's up
with that?
The last
city reference
we saw
in chapter
11 was
in verse
2.
The holy
city.
The new
Jerusalem.
The people
of God.
The great
city that
we're reading
about here
in verse
8.
It's not
Jerusalem.
It's not
Sodom.
It's not
Egypt.
It goes
by another
name in the
book of
Revelation.
A prostitute.
The
anti-bride.
Babylon.
That's the
great city.
Chapter 17
and 18.
Every time
that phrase
the great
city is
referenced in
the book of
Revelation
it always
refers to
Babylon.
A people
who do not
belong to
the Lamb
but bear
the mark
of the
beast.
The world.
This is not
an actual
city.
This great
city is
all unrepentant
mankind
in opposition
to the Lamb
and they
see the
church
humiliated
and it
looks like
the church
is done.
The holy
city looks
like it's
gotten
trampled
by the
great city.
It's a
tale of two
cities.
And this
happens for a
very short
time.
Three and a
half days.
Verse 9.
Verse 11.
When you
hear three
and a half
days,
there should
be another
three days
that starts
ringing in
your head.
So for a
very short
time, it
looks like
the church
appears
eradicated
and humiliated.
And then
in verse 10,
what you see
is the
unrepentant
mankind
gloating.
it's
more than
just
gazing
and those
who dwell
on the
earth will
rejoice over
them and
make merry
and exchange
presents.
Exchange
presents?
I mean,
it looks
like the
world has
declared a
worldwide
holiday of
rejoicing,
making merry,
and exchanging
gift cards
because,
ding,
dong,
the church
is dead.
Why the
celebrating?
Why are
people exchanging
gift cards
to go to
Target and
throw the
church's dead
parties?
Look at
verse 10.
The word
because,
right in the
middle.
Because the
two prophets
had been a
torment to
those who
dwell on
the earth.
We've seen
that word
torment before.
chapter 9,
used three
times to
describe the
torment the
demonic
locust plague
has on the
unrepentant men
and women,
and there we
defined it as
it should be,
a mental
anguish.
They're
rejoicing
because they
think the
church has
finally and
forever been
silenced.
Hooray!
The church
is no longer
prophesying about
sin, judgment,
and Jesus.
Phew!
Finally!
Yay!
Come on over
for our
church is dead
party.
Bring the
snacks.
Finally!
The crazy
witnesses have
been silenced
and now we can
have some peace
of mind.
Finally!
My friends,
at this point
in history,
the church
prophetic
has been
suffering,
but prophesying,
tormenting
the unrepented
mankind,
and they
suffer for it.
I hope you
see this,
that it's
because the
church's
prophetic
presence,
witnessing to
sin judgment
in Jesus,
that leads
the church
into great
suffering.
The good
news which
we prophesy
torments
those who do
not have ears
to hear,
and they can't
take it.
what will
you suffer
for?
So today,
when we
suffer,
because we're
called narrow-minded
bigots,
uneducated
backwater people
because we
believe a
judgment's to
come,
this is
God's
word.
This is
the scroll.
we have
suffering in
our future,
but it
doesn't end
there.
There's
more.
The church
vindicated,
verses 11
through 14.
11,
after the
three and a
half days,
a breath of
life from
God entered
them,
the two
witnesses,
the church,
and they
stood up on
their feet,
standing on
their feet.
who can
stand?
And great
fear fell on
those who
saw them.
Three and a
half days after
humiliation,
three and a
half days of
quote-unquote
being dead,
but not in a
grave,
God raised
the church
from apparent
death,
and they
stand on
their feet.
The rejoicing
and merry-making
of the three and
a half day,
the church's
dead party of
the world
stops,
and as the
church rises,
fear falls
on those who
have been
rejoicing over
the church's
apparent
demise,
vindication.
The
resurrection
of God's
people is
the judgment
on those
who remain.
Verse 12,
we see that
the unrepentant,
it's them
who hear the
voice of the
Lamb called
to His
people,
come up
here.
Not only
they're raised
from the
dead,
they're called
up.
Come up
here.
And
immediately
the church
is taken
up into
a cloud
in heaven.
And this
whole scene
started in
10-1
with an
angel coming
down in
a cloud
from heaven.
The picture
is that
the only
ones
left
on
earth
are the
enemies of
God's
people,
and they're
left to
face the
seventh and
final
trumpet,
which ushers
in the
seven bowl
wrath.
Now my
hunch is
that this
calling up
of the
church
is what
we call
the rapture
of the
church.
1 Thessalonians
4.16,
for the
Lord Himself
will descend
from heaven
and with a
cry of
command,
come up
here,
with the
voice of
an archangel
and with the
sound of a
trumpet of
God,
seven trumpets,
and the
dead in
Christ will
rise first.
The church's
final prophetic
word of
judgment will
be the
resurrection and
rapturous
ascension up
to heaven.
When Jesus
says,
come up
here,
I'm clearing
out my own
from this
planet.
And in
verse 13,
at that very
hour,
there's a
great earthquake.
When they get
called up,
there's a great
earthquake.
And in
Revelation,
earthquakes
mark God's
mighty axe.
One tenth of
the great city
falls,
seven thousand
were killed.
Remember,
this is still
trumpet six,
partial judgments.
Those remaining
are terrified.
And what's
interesting is
they give glory
to the God
of heaven.
What's that
all about?
Well,
this is not a
glorifying God
born of repentance
and faith,
marked by fullness
of thanksgiving
and joy.
This is a
terrified
realization
that what
the church
has been
proclaiming
is actually
true.
The
unrepentant
acknowledge
God's
glory
too late,
but they
acknowledge it.
It's kind of
like Philippians
2,
10,
and 11.
Every knee
shall bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under
the earth
and every
tongue
confess
that Jesus
Christ is
Lord to
the glory
of God
the Father.
There's coming
a time
where every
tongue
confesses
him.
Some
saved,
others
to torment.
repent.
If you're
not a
Christian,
if you
have yet
to heed
the prophetic
call that
you're sinful,
God's judgment
is over you,
and that
your only
rescue from
the wrath
to come
is Jesus,
you need
to repent.
If that's
you,
it's not
too late.
Verse 13
isn't here
yet.
It doesn't
matter how
old you
are.
It doesn't
matter how
much you've
sinned.
It doesn't
matter how
long you've
been ignoring
Jesus.
Today is
not that
day,
Revelation
11.13.
Today is
the day
of your
salvation.
Beyond
11.13,
there's no
other opportunity
for the people
on earth
to repent.
so if
you know
that you
have yet
to respond
to Jesus,
don't delay.
I'd love
to talk
to you
about it
after the
service.
What we
see happening
in Revelation
11 here is
the church
very much
depicts her
master.
The church
suffers like
Jesus,
the church
dies like
Jesus,
the church
is dead
for a period
of time
like Jesus,
the church
is raised
up from
the dead
like Jesus
and ascends
in a cloud
to heaven
like Jesus.
Our prophetic
witness,
our suffering
are reflected
of the Savior
we love
and serve.
It's a sober
word,
but this
passage ends
with vindication.
Come up
here.
it's a
promise.
What are you
willing to
suffer for?
Let's pray.
God in
heaven,
help us to
be faithful
to you
now,
that we
would be
faithful to
what you
call us
to speak,
not sheepishly,
not leaving
things out,
but that
we would
love people
with the
entirety of
the gospel,
speaking of
you,
speaking of
sin,
of justice,
judgment to
come,
and the need
to repent.
It's the
same,
same old
story.
God,
would you
fill us
with your
spirit
that we
may be
prophetically
present
and endure
to the
end.
In Jesus'
name we
pray.
Amen.