Revelation 11:7
God Has A Plan
Two weeks ago, we began looking at the Two Witnesses. In the first
message, I spoke mostly about their hidden truths, the things the
Bible tells us about them that might be a little more difficult to
understand. We saw their:
1. Divine Purpose - They are to witness, to tell the world about
sin, the Savior, salvation, and Satan.
2. Divine Time - 3 1/2 Jewish years, probably starting just
before the midpoint of the Tribulation and going to almost
the end of the seven years.
3. The fact that they were Divinely Prophesied - They were spoken
of in Zechariah 4:1-14. There they appear to have a changing
ministry, first standing alongside of Israel but eventually,
being intertwined with Israel. In both roles, they have a
part in helping Israel through the power of the Holy Ghost.
4. Divine Protection - Nothing is going to happen to these two
until they complete their ministry. God will see to it.
5. \\#6\\ Divine Power - These two have the power to shut up
heaven, to turn water into blood, or any other plague they
desire whenever and as often as they want.
This morning, let’s look at some of the things that are easy to
understand about the two witnesses. They have:
I. \\#Rev 11:7\\ These two have a DEFINITE ADVERSARY.
Rev 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.
A. This is the first mention of the Beast in the book of
Revelation, but I believe he is the anti-Christ.
1. Here, John called him "the beast."
a. You don’t normally call something friendly a beast.
b. Normally, you call something ruthless, violent, and
deadly a beast.
c. God did not write prophecy for the casual reader.
(1) To understand prophecy, you must read and study
all of the Bible, using the whole Bible to
interpret each Bible passage.
(2) From the remainder of the Bible, we will learn
that is a perfect description of the anti-
Christ, ruthless, violent, and deadly.
2. We are also told, he came out of "the bottomless pit."
a. The bottomless pit is where the locust-scorpion
creatures came from \\#Rev 9:1-12\\ and where the
devil will be cast for 1,000 years in
\\#Rev 20:1-3\\.
b. The Bible does not tell us but my speculation was and
is that the bottomless pit is a holding cell for the
demons that are too wicked and too powerful to be
unleashed on mankind.
c. The beast comes from there.
3. I do not know for certain how all of this will play out,
but some things are generally believed about the anti-
Christ.
a. We believe the anti-Christ will be a human being.
b. Most believe that the analogy of the anti-Christ being
from the bottomless pit will be fulfilled by Satan
himself possessing this man.
(1) Actually, this passage indicates that it is
possible that it will not be Satan himself, but
another demon, from the bottomless pit, almost
as powerful and wicked as Satan is and with the
same mindset and goals that Satan has.
(2) If it is another demon, he will have been locked
away in the bottomless for who knows how long.
c. There are three things to consider before dismissing
this notion outright:
(1) The text does say the beast comes out of the
bottomless pit and so far, the devil has never
been in the bottomless pit.
(2) Being in a human body would limit Satan.
(a) We forget but the devil is not an infinite
being.
(b) If Satan is actually IN the anti-Christ, he
could not be ANY WHERE else.
(c) If Satan is in a human body, he can
certainly do more damage where that body
is; but it would limit his abilities to
continue to roam the earth and wreak havoc
everywhere else.
(3) Having another demon inside of the anti-Christ
would make a more authentic unholy trinity.
(a) God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit are one God, but they are also
three unique Persons.
(b) If there is another demon inside the anti-
Christ, one of the same kind as Satan,
then Satan, the Beast, and the False
Prophet could better picture God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost.
d. But the bottom line is that there will be no more
difference in the anti-Christ and Satan than there is
between the Son of God and the Father. They will be
one.
e. We will learn more about the unholy trinity later. For
now, note that…
B. The Beast is the enemy of the Two Witnesses.
1. \\#7\\ is speaking of how the conflict between the Beast
and the Two Witnesses will end.
a. It says, "when they (the Two Witnesses) have finished
their testimony (their ministry, their service for
God), the beast… made war with them…."
b. The verse indicates the Beast may not directly come
against the Two Witnesses right away.
2. However, I feel certain that there will be conflict
between the Two Witnesses and the anti-Christ from
the beginning and that it will ever be increasing.
II. \\#Rev 11:7-10\\ These two have a DIVINE FATE.
Rev 11:7 …the Beast.. shall make war against
them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
A. \\#7\\ They will FINISH THEIR TESTIMONY, that is, the Two will
complete their God-given mission.
B. \\#7\\ Then they will die.
1. Nothing will stop these God-appointed witnesses until
they have finished their course.
2. When they have finished their course, nothing will stop
their God-appointed fate.
3. Somebody needs to ask, "Why?"
a. Because God wants the world to see that even the Two
Witnesses, the 144,000 Jews, or a converted nation
of Israel could stop the devil.
b. When it is all said and done, the only One who is
going to be able to take credit for stopping sin and
Satan is God.
4. By the way, that is the reason why Christians and even the
church are on the course of earthly defeat.
(a) God may send a revival.
(b) We pray that He does. We want Him to send it.
(c) But the train car of Fulfillment seems to be free-
falling off on the mountain top of Prophecy with
only one tract to run—the Bible track. While the
engine of Grace could pull Fulfillment back up
Prophecy Mountain, it looks like Fulfillment has
been cut lose from Grace and the brakes of Mercy are
burnt completely up. At this moment, Fulfillment
seems to be picking up speed as it is approaches the
end of the Bible-Line Track and will soon plunge
headlong into the ravine of Judgement.
C. \\#8-10\\ The World Will Rejoice at Their Deaths
1. \\#8\\ The Bible doesn’t actually tell us where they will
die, but it does tell us where they will lie.
Rev 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.
a. Both are probably the same.
b. The name of the city where they will lie is not
mentioned but a description and an event make it
clear.
(1) It is the city "where our Lord was crucified."
That makes it Jerusalem.
(2) It is spiritually called "Sodom and Egypt."
c. Egypt is a type of the world in the Bible.
(1) Egypt is a picture of carnal, fleshly, earthy
things.
(2) Israel is back in the land but, as yet, they have
no spiritual soul.
(3) Things will get much worse for Israel spiritually
before it will get any better.
d. Why are they called Sodom?
(1) There is not but one reason, homosexuality.
(2) Israel, like many American cities, has their gay
parades.
(3) Israel will embrace this sin wholeheartedly
before long.
2. The world will watch their bodies decay for 3 1/2 days.
Rev 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.
a. It is interesting that all the people of the world
will be able to see there broken bodies even after
the judgments the world will have endured by that
time.
(1) Repeated earthquakes which have moved every
mountain and island out of their place.
(2) \\#Is 24:20\\ The earth will reel to and fro like
a drunkard.
(3) Stars and mountains falling out of the sky.
(4) Not to mention the fighting which will most
likely involve the destruction of many high tech
facilities.
b. The anti-Christ, even while consolidating his power
and persecuting Jews and Christians during the last
half of the tribulation, will have some time to
rebuild the world’s fallen infrastructure.
3. \\#10\\ The witnesses will be despised.
Rev 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.
a. The time period, 3 1/2 days, may be to keep us from
confusing either of these two men with the Christ.
b. As a sign of Satan’s victory, the godless will put the
bodies of the Two Witnesses on world-wide display.
(1) It has only been five years since I last preached
through this book.
(2) Even then, I had difficulty imaging a world being
so filled with hate that they would purposely
leave dead bodies in the middle of the streets
for three and one-half days, let alone broadcast
that image to the world to celebrate it with
festivities.
(3) I do not have a problem seeing that now, not
after what I have seen in the last few months.
(a) Statues being toppled, businesses being
looted, buildings being set afire.
(b) Thugs and terrorists burning the flag,
dragging innocents out of their cars,
beating and kicking them, assassinating
police officers.
(c) This is the spirit—not of the anti-Christ—
but of Satan Himself!
(4) I can easily see this verse being fulfilled
today, and we are at least 6 plus years from its
fulfillment.
III. \\#Rev 11:11-12\\ These two have a DIVINE INTERVENTION.
A. \\#11\\ They will be resurrected.
Rev 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.
1. God will allow their bodies to lie on the streets for 3
1/2 days.
2. I suppose the Bible says 3 1/2 not 3 to help us avoid any
notion that these men are anything more than men.
3. Can you imagine the surprise on the faces of those
celebrating when they watch CNN, MSNBC, and even some of
the conservatives most cherished FOX—as they are
broadcasting live from Jerusalem and see those men
gloriously get up!
a. The Bible does not indicate that these men are
translated into a new body, just that they get up.
b. The Bible says that those who see it will be afraid.
c. That is probably another of those Scriptural
understatements.
B. \\#12\\ They will be removed from this earth.
Rev 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.
1. The Bible describes their departure in much the same
terms as Jesus’ ascension.
2. They will simply ascend up into the heavens.
3. It would be interesting to watch the satellites trying to
track them, wouldn’t it?
C. \\#13\\ They will be bid a violent farewell.
Rev 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.
1. God sends them off with an earthquake.
a. This is the third mention of an earthquake in this
book \\#Rev 6:12 and 8:5\\.
b. This appears to be the smallest of the three,
affecting only part of a single city, killing 7,000
men in the process.
c. No doubt those 7,000 will have been on the streets,
still celebrating the death of the Two Witnesses.
2. \\#Rev 11:8\\ tells us that the city this earthquake
occurs in is city where our Lord was crucified,
Jerusalem.
Through this message we have seen the plan of God for these Two
Witnesses. What you and I need to understand is that God has a plan
for us that is just as detailed. You say, "Not me. I am not important
enough." You are to God.
I don’t know the whole plan of God for your life but I know how it is
supposed to start.
1. God’s plan for your life starts with salvation.
2. Then God wants you to grow in your knowledge of Him.
3. Third, He wants your behaviors to change and you to become
more Christ-like.
4. Fourth, He wants you to get busy and do something for Him.
There is more to the plan but you will never know it until you accept
Jesus as your Savior. Would you do that today?
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