03.05 Between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpet.
Between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpet.
Parenthetical Visions.
Chapters 10-11:14. As there was a parenthesis between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals so is there a parenthesis between the sixth and seventh trumpet and later we shall find another one between the sixth and seventh vial.
Chapter 10.
1. The Descending Angel.Revelation 10:1-7. The proclamation of the mighty angel is the first recorded event in this parenthesis. Who is this angel? It is Christ Himself. We saw our Lord in angel’s form before the opening of the seventh seal and then He appeared in priestly dignity. Here before the sounding of the seventh trumpet he appears again in the same form, but He is called a mighty angel and we behold Him in royal dignity. The cloud, the rainbow, the face like the sun, His right foot upon the sea, the left on the earth, the voice like a lion and the seven thunders, all declare this to be correct. The hour is rapidly approaching when the kingdoms of this earth are to become His Kingdom. This is seen under the seventh trumpet. And therefore He is seen now in this attitude of royal dignity. The words which He speaks (verses 6 and 7) bear out this interpretation. “There shall be time no longer” means “there shall be no longer delay.” Man’s day is about to close. The mystery of God is now to be finished “as He hath declared to His servants, the prophets,” or in better rendering “the mystery of God also shall be completed according to the good tidings which He declared by His own servants, the prophets.” How great has been that mystery! Evil had apparently triumphed; the heavens for so long have been silent. Satan had been permitted to be the god of this age deceiving the nations. And Israel, too, is included in this mystery. And now the time has come when the mystery of God will be completed, when the glorious messages, the good tidings of the prophets concerning Israel’s blessing and the kingdom will be fulfilled.
2. The Little Book.Revelation 10:8-11. But what is the little book which the angel holds in His right hand? It is not a sealed book, but open. It stands for the prophecies in the Old Testament relating especially to Israel during the time of the great tribulation, what is yet to come upon the earth, culminating in the personal and glorious appearing of the Lord to begin His millennial reign! But we do not need to say more. We saw the contents of the seven-sealed book in chapter v were made known when the Lamb opened the seals. And the contents of the little book we shall also know. What follows after the parenthesis takes us upon Jewish ground and shows the fulfillment of these prophecies. And John was commanded to eat the book (see Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:3). It was sweet and bitter. Such is the prophetic Word concerning these things. Sweet because it tells of deliverance and a glorious consummation, but when it is digested, taken in, it reveals the bitterness, -the sorrows and judgments which are connected with it. And John had more to prophesy in connection with the end, concerning peoples, nations, tongues and many kings. And this we find in the chapters which follow.
Chapter 11.
3. The Temple, Altar and Jewish Worshippers.Revelation 11:1-2. We see at once how Jewish things come now into view. To apply these verses to the Church and make the temple the Church is absolutely wrong. The temple and the altar are Jewish; the holy city is Jerusalem. After the Church has left the earth the Jewish people will be fully restored to their own land. They will possess Jerusalem once more. It is even revealed that a power beyond the land of Israel, friendly to the Jews, will be used in this restoration (Isaiah xviii). It is deeply significant to read during this present world-crisis of the soon coming disposition of Palestine. In the daily press and in magazines the suggestion is made that Palestine should be handed over to the Jews. When one follows the history of Zionism aiming at the establishment of a Jewish State and now sees how European nations begin to recognize the claims of the Jews, and promise their help in their restoration, one cannot but feel that these things are very near. A partial restoration may be looked for even now while the true Church is still here. When the Jews are once more masters in their own promised land they will erect another temple and then restore the Mosaic worship as far as it is possible. Such a temple must be in Jerusalem (see Isaiah 66:1-4). In that temple the personal Anti-Christ, the beast out of the land of whom we shall read in Revelation 13 : will appear and claim divine worship. See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The apostate Israel altogether in corrupt alliance with equally corrupt Gentiles are seen in the opening verses of this eleventh chapter, as the court without the temple. But in the midst of this corrupt mass, which will follow the delusion of the Anti-Christ and accept Satan’s man as their Messiah, there will be the God-fearing remnant. This remnant is here divinely recognized as worshippers. Therefore that coming temple is called “the temple of God” because the Lord owns the true worshippers found in the midst of the unbelieving mass. These godly Jews form an inner circle. The inner place is symbolical of the faithful remnant of worshippers; the outer court is the symbol of apostate Israel. The forty-two months are now mentioned for the first time in Revelation. They are identical with the 1,260 days, for forty-two months make this number of days, the times, time and half a time in the prophecy of Daniel, the last three and one-half years of the seventieth week of Daniel. [Note: We cannot enlarge upon this interesting prophecy so absolutely necessary for an understanding of this part of Revelation. We refer the reader to Appendix I. ] To make these forty-two months 1,260 years, as it has been done by many expositors, is a mere invention and lacks all Scriptural support. These 1,260 days are the great tribulation. Then Israel apostate will be in the worst condition, demon-possessed and idolatrous (Matthew 12:43-45). Then the Gentiles will do their final devastation of Jerusalem and her worst history will come to pass. She will have to drink the cup of the Lord’s fury to the very dregs. We suggest at this point a careful reading of Psalm lxxix and a comparison with this eleventh chapter. It is the prayer of the godly remnant. On the measuring see also Zechariah 2 :
3. The Two Witnesses.Revelation 11:3-6. Much has been written on these two witnesses which will then appear in Jerusalem. The historical school of interpretation has named numerous persons and companies of people, like the Waldenses and Albigenses, who suffered under the papal persecutions. These claims we need not to investigate for they are disproven by the true interpretation of the book. These two witnesses are still future. Their work is done during the great tribulation. Others make them Enoch and Elijah and others think they will be Moses and Elijah returned in person. The late Alexander Dowie and others before him, claimed to be a reincarnation of Elijah, the prophet. The claims of course were fanatical. No second coming of Moses is anywhere promised in the Word. However, something is said about the work of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6). But the words of our Lord in Matthew 11:14, speaking of John the Baptist, and Matthew 17:12, seem to make it clear that no literal coming of the same Elijah, who went into glory, without dying, is meant. Yet the deeds of these two witnesses clearly link them with the work of Moses and Elijah. We take it then that these two witnesses represent the great testimony to be given in Jerusalem during the 1,260 days of the great tribulation. Perhaps the leaders will be two great instruments, manifesting the spirit of Moses and Elijah, endowed with supernatural power but a larger number of witnesses is unquestionably in view here. They maintain in the midst of the Satanic scenes a powerful testimony for God. They are called “olive trees,” because the energy and power of the Holy Spirit rest upon them.
See and compare with Zechariah 4 : Their testimony, besides witnessing against the awful corruption, is the Gospel of the Kingdom and the glorious coming of the King. The judgments through them are their credentials.
5. The Beast and the Witnesses.Revelation 11:7. In Revelation 11:2 the period of the great tribulation was mentioned for the first time and here we have the first mention of the Beast. Who is this Beast coming out of the pit of the abyss of the deep? It is the revived Roman Empire with the little horn, seen by Daniel on the Four-horned beast (Daniel 7). While he domineers over the Gentiles, he will turn in fury against these Jewish Saints, and the two witnesses will be slain. He makes war with the godly remnant. (Daniel 7:21). A part of that remnant will be killed. Then the company of martyrs mentioned in Revelation 6:11 will be gathered. This is more fully described in Revelation 13. Here we look at it and the outcome in a general way.
6. The Treatment of the Slain Witnesses.Revelation 11:8-10. See again Psalms 79:1-3. The vileness of these coming days of Satan’s rule on earth are seen in the treatment of the bodies of Jehovah’s servants. The wicked are so elated over the silencing of the testimony that they refuse to permit their burial so that they may feast their eyes upon the sickening spectacle. They rejoice and make it a festive occasion, because torment had come to their consciences through the testimony of the slain. Gentiles, who side with apostate Israel are mentioned, but especially a class which is called “they that dwell on the earth” rejoices over the end of the witnesses. The same class is mentioned several times. Study the passages where they are mentioned: Revelation 3:10; Revelation 6:9-10; Revelation 8:13; Revelation 11:9-10; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 14:6-7; Revelation 17:8. Who are they? They are the apostate, nominal Christians who are utterly blinded and hardened. Php 3:18-19 gives their character and destiny.
7. Their Public Vindication.Revelation 11:11-12. God’s power is manifested in their physical resurrection and their visible translation. Their enemies see a great miracle. The apostates who ridicule even now a physical resurrection, who sneer at the blessed Hope of a coming translation of the Saints, will witness these two great facts. No wonder that a great fear fell upon them. The raised company belongs to the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4).
8. The Great Earthquake.Revelation 11:13-14. The terror becomes still greater when the whole city is shaken by a mighty earthquake. This is not a symbolical earthquake but a convulsion of nature by which the fourth part of the city falls and 7,000 men are killed. It marks the end of the second woe. Then those who escaped the visitation gave glory unto God of heaven. It is only inspired by fear. They do not turn in repentance unto God. Here ends the parenthetical vision.
9. The Seventh Trumpet. The Third Woe.Revelation 11:15-18. That the seventh trumpet brings us to the very end of the tribulation and the beginning of the millennial reign does not need any further argument. It is Jerusalem’s deliverance. He who alone is worthy receives the Kingdom. How clear this ought to make the fact that our Lord has no Kingdom now, but He receives the promised Kingdom on the earth at the end of these things. See Daniel 7:14. Heaven worships too; they celebrate the fact that He has taken His great power. It is a review of all that takes place and what follows when He appears out of heaven. The nations were full of wrath (Psalms 2; Psalms 46:6); His wrath is come; resurrection will follow; this points to the time after the kingdom (chapter 20:12). And His servants, the Prophets and the Saints, receive their reward, to reign with Him.