MEASURE THE TEMPLE OF GOD (Rev 11:1-2)

In Rev 11:1-2 John is told to measure the temple of God and the alter and to count the number of worshipers that were there. We can learn several things from this. First, the temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt by sometime in the tribulation period and second that people had already begun worshiping there again. Bible prophecy scholars have long believed that the temple would have to be rebuilt and in use during the tribulation period. There are several reasons for this including:

• In Daniel’s vision of the seventy seven’s in Israel’s future (Dan 9:27), he saw the coming antichrist putting an end to sacrifices and offerings in the temple in the middle of the seven year tribulation period. That means that the Jews will again be worshiping in the temple in Jerusalem by the middle of the tribulation period. Daniel goes on to say that the antichrist will set up an abomination that causes desolation in a wing of the temple. That amounts to setting up some form of worship of a false god in the temple. 2 Thess 2:4 describes this as the antichrist proclaiming himself to be God in the temple and demanding to be worshipped.
• Jesus refers to this abomination that causes desolation in his Olivet Discourse in Matt 24:15. He tells those in Jerusalem to flee to the mountains when they see this happening. Jesus says that the antichrist is the abomination that causes desolation. He says that this will happen in the holy place, referring to the temple.
• Micah 4:1-5 and Isa 2:2 speak of the temple in the “last days.” The context clearly is referring to a temple in the millennial period.
• In Ezek 40:2-5, Ezekiel is having a vision and he sees someone measuring the temple at some time in the future. I wonder if he might not be seeing John in Revelation. The person that he sees appears to be bronze in color. I wonder if this bronze color might not be a reflection of the Dome of the Rock on the one doing the measuring. He also sees a wall completely surrounding the temple area. I wonder if this wall might not be for separation from the Dome of the Rock. In Rev 11:2 we see that John is told to exclude the outer court and not measure it because it has been given to the gentiles. What is in the area that has been given to the gentiles? It is the Dome of the Rock. Rev 11:2 goes on to say that those who have been given the area of the Dome of the Rock will trample on the holy city for 42 months. Who is this that will trample on the holy city for 42 months? It is Islamic peoples because they own the Dome of the Rock. That may imply that the antichrist will be Islamic.

Thus we have what seems to me to be irrefutable evidence that the temple will be rebuilt and in use in Jerusalem during the tribulation period. Why is John told to measure the temple area? It may simply be to let us know that the temple will be rebuilt and that the Dome of the Rock will still be standing, and possibly that the antichrist will be Islamic.

THE TWO WITNESSES (Rev 11:3-14)

In Rev 11:3-6 we are introduced to two witnesses and we learn quite a bit about them in Rev 11:7-14. Let’s list what we learn in these verses and discuss it.

• They do their work in the power of God. Two witnesses are described in Zech 4. Zech 4:6 says that they will do their work through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives them supernatural powers to do what they do. Zech 4:8-9 may imply that the temple in Jerusalem will be completed while the two witnesses are doing their work in the tribulation period.
• They prophecy. This implies that they had great insight and knowledge into the things of God and they presented it very boldly. They knew what was happening in the tribulation period and they were attempting to win as many to Christ as possible knowing that the time was very short.
• Their ministry lasts for 1260 days or three and one half years. From the discussion above about the temple we know that we are at the midpoint of the tribulation in our discussion. We get to a discussion of two very special witnesses for God in Rev 11:3. We are first told that they will prophecy for 1260 days. Although it is not clearly stated, we believe that the two witnesses must be doing their work in the first three and one half years of the tribulation period. In fact, this must be during the first half of the tribulation period because they have success in winning people to Christ and we are told that those in the fourth, fifth and sixth judgments refused to repent in spite of the judgments.
• They are clothed in sackcloth as they prophesy. Sackcloth was worn to symbolize mourning over a death or some sort of calamity. Sackcloth was often worn by prophets because of the terrible message of gloom and judgment that they were presenting.
• They are two olive trees and two lampstands. The two witnesses are called the “two olive trees and two lampstands” that stand before the Lord in Rev 11:4. This tells us that there are more than two entities in the two witnesses since there are two each of olive trees and lampstands, meaning at least four entities. We must ask again, what are lampstands and what are olive trees, or what do they represent since Revelation is so symbolic. We understand that olive trees represent the Godly within Israel and Judah, and lampstands represent believers within the churches. The two witnesses must have become believers during the first half of the tribulation period. We can learn a lot about the symbology involving olive trees and lampstands from Zech 3:8-4:14. See the discussion and the charts Zech 3:8-4:14 at the end of the symbology dictionary. Also see the article on the Symbology of the lampstands and olive trees in Zech 3:8-4:4 in the dictionary of symbology for more details of this passage in Zech 4. We also know from Jer 11:14-17 that God called Israel and Judah olive trees, the same symbol that he used for the two witnesses. We will learn more about this symbology as we proceed. We will also learn why there are two each of olive trees and lampstands at the end of this section..
• They stand before the Lord of the earth. Those who stood before the Lord in the Old Testament were the Levites, the priestly order (Deut 10:8, 18:7, Ezek 44:15), Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 17:1, 18:15), and Elisha the prophet (2 Kings 3:14). What do we learn from this? Priests could come before the Lord. We know this includes believers in Jesus after his death and resurrection, because Heb 10:19-22 tells us that we can enter the most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. We also see that there are two special, holy prophets of God, Elijah and Elisha, who stand before the Lord. The language in the Old Testament describing these witnesses standing before the Lord matches the language in Rev 11:4. That may make it likely that they are being pointed to in the symbology in Revelation. A case can also be made for Moses since we understand that he was in the presence of the Lord on the mountain when he received the Ten Commandments and when he stood before the burning bush. However, the specific language does not match that in Revelation, whereas the language referring to Elijah, Elisha and the Levites does match Revelation.
• They have great powers to protect themselves from anyone who wants to harm them. Another possible confirmation that Israel and Judah are included in the two witnesses is given in Zech 12:6-10, where we learn that they are supernaturally protected by God “in that day.” We know from Rev 11:5-6 that the two witnesses are not harmed as they do their work in the first half of the tribulation period.
• They have power over nature during the time they prophecy and they can strike the earth with every kind of plague. Rev 11:3 says that the two witnesses are prophets for God for three and one half years of the tribulation period. This seems to be the first half of the tribulation period since the supernatural powers that they have seem to be consistent with the judgments in the first half of the tribulation (drought, plagues, turning water into blood). Many Bible scholars have come to the conclusion that the two witnesses may be reappearances on earth of Moses and Elijah, who were a part of the transfiguration that anticipated the Second Coming of Jesus. There are many good reasons to conclude that, especially since we see that the two witnesses possess many of the supernatural powers that Moses and Elijah had when they were on earth, including:

(a) They, like Elijah, "have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain" (Rev 11:6). Elijah’s prayer caused a terrible drought in Israel (1 Kings 17:1). It lasted about three and one half years (1 Kings 18:1). That is the exact length of time that the two witnesses do their work on earth.

(b) They, like Moses, "have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague" (Rev 11:6, Exodus 7:14-21). This certainly could be through use of weapons of war such as nuclear warheads. The two witnesses can predict when the plagues of first half of the tribulation will hit or they may actually bring them about through the power of God.

(c) They, like Elijah, “have the power to consume their enemies with fire, if they try to hurt them (Rev 11:5, 2 Kings 1:10). This fire is said to "come from their mouths" (Rev 11:5). This again may signify use of nuclear weapons. Zech 12:6 says on that day that leaders of Judah will be like a flaming torch among sheathes. Fire can also refer to either supernatural fire or to God’s anger. Fire represents servants of God from Ps 104:4 and Heb 1:7.

It may be that Moses and Elijah, or possibly Elijah and Elisha, were models for the two witnesses and the two witnesses came in their image, so to speak. Moses and Elijah, Israel and Judah can each be said to be olive trees, since they are all Jewish. In Zech 3 and 4 they stand beside the golden lampstand, which figuratively represents the church in Revelation. Thus we see the remnant of Israel and Judah standing with the remnant of the church in the tribulation. Again, it is possible that Moses and Elijah, or Elijah and Elisha, do return to earth and are the spiritual leaders of those called the two witnesses. Mal 4:5 says that God will send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Thus we can be certain about Elijah but we cannot be so positive about whether the other is Elisha or Moses.

Zech 4:12 also says that two branches, possibly referring to two individuals, are standing beside the lampstand. Zech 4:14 says that these two “are anointed as servants of the God of the whole earth.” Rev 7:3 calls the 144,000 servants of God. We have concluded that the 144,000 are included as part of the two witnesses. Thus there may be a tie in between the two branches in Zech 4 and the two witnesses. Since Rev 11 talks about two witnesses, two lampstand and two olive trees and Zech 4 talks about two servants, two olive trees and one lampstand, I suspect that there is a close tie in between the symbology presented in the two chapters.

• When they have completed their testimony, the beast from the Abyss attacks and kills them. This must be after the start of the fifth judgment since that is when the beast is released; and the two witnesses have just completed their work. In our discussion of the fifth seal judgment in chapter 6 and the fifth trumpet judgment in chapter 9 we concluded that the resurrection and rapture described as being part of the fifth judgment was indeed the two witnesses. We also saw that the release of the evil angels from the Abyss had to occur prior to the death of the two witnesses. We see in Rev 11:7 that the two witnesses were killed by a beast released from the Abyss. This release occurred during the fifth trumpet judgment described in chapter 9. It is interesting to note that the beast from the Abyss made war against the two witnesses. You do not make war against two people. This is additional confirmation to me that the two witnesses included the believing remnant of Israel, Judah and the churches in the tribulation period.
• They lie dead in the streets of Jerusalem for three and one half days visible to the whole world. This would be possible today due to the technological revolution. It could be either through the Internet or television, or both.
• The whole world celebrates over the deaths of the two witnesses. The two witnesses had tormented them with plagues of all sorts. They were a thorn in the side of the unbelievers, and especially the beast, who had declared himself to be God and demanded to be worshipped. This hints that the two leaders of the two witnesses with the supernatural powers must have been vocal about what they were going to do to the people of the world. It sounds like a repeat of the warnings that Moses gave the Pharaoh, which were followed up with action after the intended results were not achieved. The world was tired of the plagues heaped on them by the two witnesses. It also sounds like the world knew who was responsible and they were excited to finally be rid of them.
• After the three and one half days they are resurrected and raptured to heaven in the view of everyone. In the fifth seal judgment we have a description of a group of redeemed believers who had been killed about the midpoint of the tribulation period, resurrected and then raptured to heaven. We know they had been resurrected and raptured since they are described as being “souls.” A soul is described in Genesis 2:7 as being a spirit inhabiting a body, meaning that they must have been resurrected. We are told in verse 11 that a “breath of life” entered them and they came to life. This “breath of life” was their spirit re-entering their body, only this time a new resurrected body. It is likely that those seen in the fifth seal judgment in heaven are the two witnesses. This rapture seems to be a rapture of believers who were killed and resurrected, just as the two witnesses were believers who were killed and resurrected.
• Just after the rapture there was a great earthquake in Jerusalem killing many. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to God. The rapture concluded the fifth judgment and the earthquake signaled the beginning of the sixth judgment. In Rev 6:9-12 we see that there was a great rapture in the fifth judgment and an earthquake in the sixth judgment. Rev 11:13 may be telling us that some of the witnessing Jews became believers in Jesus as a result of what they had experienced.

It may well be that there are two specific spokesmen for the totality of the two witnesses. These two may be called the two witnesses just as the totality are also two witnesses. We will see that pattern repeated in Rev 13-19 as the Beast refers to both an empire in the end times and also the leader of the empire. The model in Zech 4:12 presents both two olive trees and two branches.

So, after all of this discussion, who exactly are the two witnesses? In symbolic language they certainly are two lampstands and two olive trees (and possible two branches). Although I cannot be certain, my best guess is that the two witnesses are the following:

• The two olive trees are two very powerful individual leaders of the movement to convince the world of the purpose for the judgment that is taking place and to win as many as possible for the kingdom that is soon co These two tribulation prophets in some way operate in the spirit of the two great Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha (or Moses).
• The two lampstands are priests in the order of Levi who stand before the Lord. Remember, each believer is his own priest and may come into the presence of the Lord. One lampstand is composed of those Jews who have become believers in the first half of the tribulation period, who have been sealed as belonging to Christ, are servants of Christ and either are or include the 144,000. In Rev 14:3 we see that the 144,000 are in heaven standing before the Lord. That is additional confirmation that the 144,000 are a part of the two witnesses. The other lampstand is composed of those gentiles who have become believers in the first half of the tribulation period.

When Jews become believers they become lampstands. When gentiles become believers they become branches on an olive tree. All believers, both Jew and gentile, are both lampstands and branches (Gal 3:26-29, Rom 11:17-24, Eph 2:19-22). Rom 11:17-24 refers to Jews as a cultivated olive tree and believing gentiles as a wild olive tree.

CLUES TO THE TIMELINE OF THE APPARENT RAPTURE OF THE TWO WITNESSES AND THE 144,000

LOGIC USED IS ESTABLISHING THAT THE FIFTH JUDGMENT BEGINS AT THE MID-POINT OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD

• The two witnesses begin their work at the very beginning of the 7 year tribulation period.
• The two witnesses complete their work after 3 ½ years and are then killed, resurrected and raptured.
• Thus the two witnesses complete their work soon after the mid-point of the 7 year tribulation period.
• The two witnesses are killed in the fifth judgment by the beast from the Abyss.
• Thus the fifth judgment is taking place soon after the mid-point of the tribulation period.
• The persecutions of the antichrist and his forces do not begin until the mid-point of the tribulation period.
• Thus the release of the evil angels from the Abyss, who assist Satan and the antichrist in their persecutions, does not happen until the mid-point of the tribulation period.
• The evil angels from the Abyss are the vehicle for the fifth judgment and are released in the fifth judgment.
• Thus the fifth judgment starts right at or soon after the mid-point of the tribulation period.

EVIDENCE USED IN ARRIVING AT THE ABOVE CONCLUSIONS

• The tribulation period lasts for 7 years and is clearly divided into two 3 ½ year periods in both Daniel 9:27, 12:7-13 and Revelation 11:1-3. Gabriel is speaking to Daniel in these passages, Dan 9:20-21.
• The defining event in the exact middle of the 7 year period is the antichrist defiling the temple in Jerusalem by declaring himself to be God, 2 Thess 2:4, Dan 9:27.
• Israel will still have autonomy for the first 3 ½ years, Dan 12:7. At that point the antichrist breaks his peace treaty with Israel and he persecutes them for the next 3 ½ years, Dan 9:27. Many Jews go into hiding in the mountains of Israel and Jordan as soon as the antichrist breaks the peace treaty, Matt 24:15-20, Rev 12:13-15. The Jews remain in hiding in a safe place out of the reach of the antichrist for 3 ½ years, Rev 12:14. This clearly establishes that the Jews went into hiding at the exact mid-point of the 7 year tribulation period and remain there until the end of the 7 year period. One half go into exile, Zech 14:2.
• The peace treaty between Israel and the antichrist is made at the very beginning of the 7 year period. This peace treaty defines the boundaries of the 7 year tribulation period. It remains in effect and Israel remains autonomous for the first 3 ½ years. The antichrist then breaks the peace treaty, declares himself to be their God, and many Jews then go into hiding in a safe place for the next 3 ½ years.
• The two witnesses must have become believers suddenly after the rapture and began their work immediately. Rev 7:1-4 leads us to the conclusion that the 144,000, who were a part of the two witnesses, were sealed by God as believers at the very beginning of the tribulation. The judgments had to begin at the beginning of the 7 year period because we concluded above that the peace treaty between Israel and the antichrist was made shortly after the beginning of the 7 year period. Also we know from Luke 17:26-36 that the wrath will begin on the same day that the rapture takes place. This seems to indicate that the rapture event itself, or possibly the beginning of the wrath on that same day leads many to become believers in Jesus. Thus we may have the birth of the two witnesses, including the 144,000 on the first day of the tribulation period. Rev 11:3 says that they complete their work in 3 ½ years, which would end right after the mid-point of the 7 year tribulation period.
• The two witnesses are successful in their witness for Jesus and a huge number of both Jews and gentiles become believers. The evidence for this is the large number of Jews who become believers, Rev 7:3-4, and also the large number of gentiles from every nation on earth who become believers, Rev 7:9, 6:9-11. A huge number of these believers were killed and raptured to heaven five months after the beginning of the fifth judgment, Rev 9:1, 10, 11:7-12.
• We know that this rapture took place about 5 months after the beginning of the fifth judgment from the following logic. At the beginning of the fifth judgment a very large number of evil angels were released from the Abyss, Rev 9:1-11. These evil angels were given 5 months to torture the unbelievers on earth (they were not allowed to torture believers), Rev 9:5, 10. At the end of the five months they began pursuing the Jews who were in hiding and God supernaturally sent them back to the Abyss, Rev 12:14. Satan became enraged at this and immediately went out to make war against the believers, who were the two witnesses, Rev 12:17, 11:7. We were told that the two witnesses had finished their 3 ½ year work on earth and were then allowed to be killed, resurrected and raptured, Rev 11:7, 11-12.
• We know that the two witnesses had to do their work in the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation because of their huge success in winning people to believe in Jesus. In the first 3 ½ years of the tribulation Israel was still autonomous and the two witnesses could do their work with success. It would not have been possible in the second 3 ½ years for several reason. First, the antichrist was then in pursuit of Jews and believers in particular. Second, we are told that nobody became believers in the last four judgments, in spite of the great tribulation that they were undergoing, Rev 9:20-21, 14:3, 16:9-11. Thus the two witnesses had to do their work in the first three judgments. Apparently it became much harder in the fourth judgment and impossible thereafter to win believers in Jesus.
• In review, we see that the two witnesses were pursued and killed in the fifth judgment. It seems that this was 5 months after the beginning of the fifth judgment because the evil angels who had been released from the Abyss must have completed their 5 months of torturing unbelievers because they were sent back to the Abyss when they began a pursuit of the Jews who were in hiding. This had to be in the second 3 ½ years of the tribulation because the Jews were in hiding when the evil angels pursued them.
• Rev 11:7-12 discusses the death, resurrection and rapture of the two witnesses in the fifth judgment. It appears that the sixth judgment begins just as the rapture is taking place. Rev 11:13 discusses this earthquake, which seems to be the same as the earthquake described in the sixth judgment in Rev 6:12. The earthquake in Rev 6 follows the fifth judgment just as it does Rev 11. Rev 11:14 also may indicate that this earthquake is in the second woe, which is the sixth judgment as indicated in Rev 8:13.
• For all of these Bible facts to be true, it leads us to the conclusion that the fifth judgment begins right at the mid-point of the 7 year tribulation period.

The timing of the fifth judgment is presented in greater detail inIdentifying where the seven judgments fit in relation to the midpoint of the tribulation in the section titled A study of the judgments described in Revelation. It is also presented in under great multitude in the dictionary of symbology.

CELEBRATION IN HEAVEN; THE BLOWING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET (Rev 11:15-19)

In Rev 11:16-19 we see a celebration in heaven at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, including:

• An announcement that the kingdom of the world was about to become the kingdom of heaven and that Jesus would be king.
• The twenty four elders who were seated on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God and thanked him for destroying evil on the earth and bringing about the kingdom of heaven. We can gain several very important insights from what the twenty four elders have to say. I will list a few of them.
  “You have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” The past tense used shows that Jesus comes to earth and begins his reign during the seventh trumpet judgment.
  They continue, “The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.” Again the past tense indicates that the nations had been angry in the past, but God had just put an end to it.”

The rest of what they have to say indicates things that will happen at the “sheep-goat judgment” of Matt 25:31-46. This must be speaking of that judgment because the time frame and the things that will take place are consistent with what is taught elsewhere in the Bible. We read here that God will judge the dead, reward his servants the prophets and his saints, and destroy those who destroy the earth.

• The innermost part of the temple in heaven was opened. Rev 15:8 tells us that the temple in heaven had been closed. We can determine that this closing of the temple had occurred in either the sixth or seventh judgment. It had to be after the end of the fifth judgment because we see those who had been raptured at the end of the fifth judgment are in heaven in Rev 15:2. We can also determine the timeframe of the reopening of the temple from Rev 15:8 which says that no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. This is at the Second Coming of Jesus. Again we have confirmation that the Second Coming happens in the seventh trumpet judgment.

Lastly, we see that the seventh trumpet judgment and the seventh bowl judgment are the same judgment. Rev 11:19 tells us how God pours out his wrath on the earth in the seventh trumpet judgment, “And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” The means of the wrath in the seventh bowl judgment is identical to this. The exact words of Rev 11:19 are repeated in Rev 16:18 describing the seventh bowl judgment. The only difference is that there is additional information in the bowl judgment description of the great hailstorm. Rev 16:21 says, “From the sky huge hailstones of a hundred pounds each fell upon men.”