The 11th chapter of Revelation brings to a close the chronological chapters. Prior to this chapter, the seven seals opened in sequence and God’s outline of the Tribulation events put in crisp, concise order. It’s the brink of Armageddon, 30-90 days before the return of Christ. In this chapter there is an “earth-shaking” resurrection. Then God uses the Church as an instrument to measure the Jews for judgment and salvation. The discovery of the whereabouts of the elusive lost Ark of the Covenant comes to light. Two of God’s spiritual giants square off in mortal combat with Satan’s evil drones. And the seventh and final trumpet blast comes ringing down from heaven, announcing the last judgment of God and the Second Coming of Christ, the Savior.

God begins the final chapter in His outline of the Tribulation by turning to the Jews. Though chapter eleven deals primarily with the salvation and judgment of the Jews, the chapter by no means excludes the Church. Many students of Revelation have fallen prey to the temptation of defining Revelation in terms of whether it is about the Church or about the Jews. Arthur Bloomfield, in All Things New, says Revelation is about the Church. Grant Jeffrey, in his less insightful book, entitled The Beast, The Coming New World Order, says it is about the Jews. It has become a tradition that we must declare which side of the quarrel we are on. It is an unfortunate trap, however. Once we make such a choice then all our analysis and interpretation has to fit into a predesignated mold fabricated by the theology of our chosen side. By making such a distinction we needlessly paint ourselves into a corner of vain interpretation. Trying to be consistent in our view we end up making untenable statements. If we must give Revelation a general designation we can say, with assurance, that it is about the consummation of the redemption of man and the earth through Jesus Christ; in other words it is about the accomplishment of the six things promised in the summary of the Tribulation prophesied in Daniel 9:24. Everything in Revelation is about redemption and judgment; what can be redeemed and what cannot be redeemed. We can say with boldness that chapter eleven refers to and has implications for both Jew and Gentile, Church and Israel and in this way, Revelation brings together the two into the “Commonwealth of Israel” as spoken of by Paul (Eph. 2).

Though the riveting drama of chapter eleven centers around God’s Two Witnesses and the marvel of their ministry, the chapter has three primary themes:

1. The nation Israel measured by Christ, the Messiah’s standards.
2. The Two Witnesses representing God in opposition to Satan’s Trinity, and
3. The announcement of the end of the judgment process and the preparation for the Coming of Christ.

We are first told about God’s plan for Israel and the salvation of the Jews. It then tells us about the two prophets of the last days, whom God will send to show forth His might and power to a world tormented by the fires of judgment and lost to Satanic influences. The chapter ends with a violent storm of God’s wrath from heaven.

Though the pronouncement of legal right to the earth and its symbolic act of repossession is a vital precursor to the last series of seven quick and intense judgments (for this lawful act gives Jesus legal right to take the purchased possession by force), the sixth trumpet judgment is declared to be officially over not by this act of possession but when the Two Witnesses ministry is ended by their martyrdom and they are raised from the dead and ascend into heaven. (Rev. 11.12-14) But before God tells us about these two men’s spectacular ministry, He has John act in behalf of the Church once more. In yet another symbolic act, John is called upon to “take the measure” of God’s temple, its altar, and God’s chosen people.

God First Takes the Measure of the Jews

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
    But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” Rev. 11.1-2

The measuring rod that the angel hands to John in verse one has two very significant spiritual implications. A rod in Scripture is symbolic of judgment. Ezekiel prophesied about God’s rod of judgment on Israel in the last days.

“As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
    And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. …
    And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
    And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall  know that I am the LORD.” Ezek. 20.33-34,37,38

Measuring or weighing can be a sign of both possession and/or testing. The king of Babylon, Belshazzar, was measured in the balances and found wanting. The prophet Zechariah saw an angel with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem as a place of habitation for God’s true believers (Zech. 2.1-6). By measuring, God is telling us that it is time for Him to test and judge His people; to see who measures up to His Word and who does not.

Who and what God is about to test and judge could only be the Jews. It cannot be the Church, the Church would not be found inside the temple worshiping God. They have been judged in the Rapture and are being judged by persecution described in the fifth and sixth seals. We are told in verse two that the outside courts are given over to the Gentiles, or the faithless world, and are not to be measured at all. God is not interested in measuring, judging, or “saving” the world. Their fate is sealed. He has already set them apart for judgment, the die is cast, the “handwriting is on the wall”. He is only waiting for the cup of indignation to be full for the moment when He will pour out the “fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God” onto their rebellious world (Rev. 16). But it is not so with His chosen people, Israel. They will be measured, judged and saved. These two verses have to be about the Jews. Take note of what God is measuring.

This act would be unusual, or even meaningless, unless we perceive it as a purely spiritual act. It may not be strange that someone would measure the Temple, or even an altar, but to measure “them that worship therein” is a curious thing. We can be sure God does not want to know who is 5’2″ and who is 6’3″, or who weighs 200 pounds or who weighs 135. Nor does God want to know the dimensions of the altar, or even the Temple for that matter. God is taking the measure of His people to see how they conform to the standards of true faith. This is why the Church (in the person of John) is given the rod to measure the temple, its altar and the people who worship therein. Now they will be required to see the Messiah in all the symbolism of the Temple. They will see the Law as being fulfilled in the light of Jesus’ First Coming as explained in the New Testament Book of Hebrews.

The prophet Isaiah says they will be redeemed in one day.

“Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” Isa. 66.8

The inference we may draw is that the nation of Israel, during the Tribulation, will have to come up to the measure of The Church. Any Jew who resists will be weighed in the balances and found wanting just as the unrepentant and stubborn Belshazzar was judged (Dan. 5). Coming up to the measure of the Church does not suggest that the Church will dictate its own vision of righteousness to the nation Israel, it merely suggests that Israel will now be held to the same standards of faith that the Church is held to; they will be required to receive Christ as the Messiah. The scales will fall from their eyes; as the blind man in the temple, they will see Jesus and know that He alone is the Son of God. They will understand, finally, that God became man so that man might become God. This, of course, is the message the Two Witnesses will be preaching all over Israel. It will be the age-old message – come to the cross, repent, accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and be saved. Jesus will speak to them: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”; and they will hear. And who on earth by this time will not be heavily laden with fears, trepidation and anguish? The Two Witnesses will be the tutors and prophets who will teach the Jews – those Jews who have ears to hear – how to measure up to the cross of Christ. Any Jew who is saved will have to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, the Messiah. Zechariah says they will look upon the one whom they have pierced, that can only be Jesus.

“In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
    And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
    And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
    In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.” Zech.12.8-11

Measuring the Temple, Altar and People

With tears and repentance Israel will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Everything in Israel must come up to the standards of Christ, that is why the Church holds the rod and is the yardstick by which all will be measured. In establishing the Temple, God told Moses, “And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” (Exod. 25:40) All of these things prefigured Christ and the work of salvation that He would do for Jew and Gentile alike. Moses and the artisans of Israel carefully followed this heavenly pattern for the tabernacle (temple), but over the years the pattern faded and eroded, gradually giving way to a pattern of the Jews’ own making. It got progressively worse: starting with Solomon, who introduced idolatrous things into the worship of the Temple, then through the return of the Babylonian captivity when the priests took over and their rabbinical teachings put a humanistic spin on the worship of God; then past the era of the Maccabees and the period of Greek influence, until the days of Jesus Himself when the Temple had fully degenerated from a house of prayer into a den of thieves. “It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves”.

How will the Tribulation Temple measure up to God’s Word and Christ’s expectations? Will it be pure and without variation from God’s prescribed pattern? Of course not. That won’t happen until Jesus sweeps His house clean at the end of the Tribulation. Cleansing the Temple is part of the Tribulation plan, to set the Temple right; for it is from the Temple in Jerusalem that Jesus “will rule the nations with a rod of iron”. One of Jesus’s first tasks, when He returns, will be to cleanse the temple. (Dan.8:13-14) God is taking the measure of the Temple because that will be Christ’s palace and throne during the 1,000-year reign of The Millennium. The altar must also be measured according to the true and final sacrifice, which is Jesus. The Jews will have to come to the understanding that innocent blood need no longer be shed on the altar of sacrifice. Jesus, once and for all, has done the work that has given them full pardon and remission of sin. Their transgressions are forgiven. They will look from the altar of Christ and no longer see the veil that separated them from God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. They will know that it was torn in half on the day of His death on the cross never again to be a barrier between them and their God. All those who do not come to this altar of the innocent Lamb of God and accept the shed blood of their brother, Jesus, shall be lost. All who do shall be given life.

Each Jew will be measured individually and the thousands of Jews who accept Christ will make up the collective nation of Israel that shall inherit the land during The Millennium. Each Jew will be required, as all Gentiles, to stand in the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Those Jews who have claimed that they love the Father will be required to worship His only begotten Son. Jesus will require all Jews to live up to His statement made to the Pharisees “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” John 8:42 Those who do not prove their love for the Father by their acceptance of His only begotten Son will be cast as fruitless branches into the fires of Hell. Those who do will be welcomed into the kingdom where there is no difference between Jew and Gentile.

While there will be frightening judgments going on all about Israel and throughout the rest of the earth, this time will be one of the most wonderful of all time (Rom. 11:15). The Jews, supernaturally blinded for so long, will be like the blind man on the road to Jericho who had his sight restored by Christ. Their eyes will be opened by the ministry of the Two Witnesses. It is likely that these two men will be two prophets who have already had powerful ministries to Israel. It may take something as dramatic and miraculous as actually having Elijah and Moses come back to earth to give the nation of Israel its sight.

The Two Witnesses

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Rev. 11. 3-4

God has always kept a pair of witnesses on earth for Himself. After the Fall of man, it was Seth and Enoch. Before the Flood, it was Methuselah and Noah. Before Pharaoh, it was Moses and Aaron. In the Apostolic era, it was Paul and Peter. God established the principle when He declared in the law that nothing could be proven unless it was established by at least two witnesses. God will have this form of justice and truth come to its greatest fulfillment during the Tribulation when He sends two very special witnesses to declare His mercy and judgment to a besieged world. These two men will be the ministers of God’s salvation, and as God’s ministers, they will be locked in a titanic struggle with the Antichrist, his system and the False Prophet (who we shall see in a later chapter). God first identifies who these two men are and the duration of their ministry. They are the two candle sticks and the two olive trees standing before the whole earth. Zechariah saw them as two candlesticks with golden oil pouring out of them, symbolic of being filled with the Holy Ghost to overflowing.

“And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
    And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
    Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Zech. 4.12-14

There is speculation that the two men could be some combination of Enoch, Elijah, Moses, John, or even Noah. They may even be unknown individuals living today, come in the spirit of these men, as John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah and partly fulfilled the prophecy concerning Elijah’s return (Matt. 11:14). But God may call upon two legendary leaders of Israel like Moses and Elijah to perform this ministry simply because of the enormity of the task.

The ministry of the Two Witnesses will be performed during the second half of the Tribulation. They will testify for three and a half years, the same amount of time God has allotted the Gentiles to overrun the city of Jerusalem. It is interesting that the time for overrunning the courts outside the temple is half the Tribulation, and the time for the ministering of the Two Witnesses is half the Tribulation. It seems that the time period for the overrunning of the city (but not the Temple), is during the first half of The Tribulation when the sacrifice and oblations are still in effect. But once the Antichrist stops the sacrifices and oblations, which he had reestablished in the first months of the Tribulation, his real reign of terror begins. This is the halfway point of the Tribulation; it is also the time for the Two Witnesses to begin their testimony.

The fact that the Abomination of Desolation is in place and the Temple of God is being defiled in such a sacrilegious and disgraceful way is consistent with the two men going about in sackcloth. Sackcloth is a sign of mourning and repentance for the Jew. The prophets used this as a sign of remorse; Job wore sackcloth in his despair. The Two Witnesses are going to be overwrought with despair not only because of the defilement of the Temple, but for the evil condition of the world, the lost condition of Israel and the blasphemies of the Antichrist and his sidekick, the False Prophet. Daniel gives us a timetable that is helpful in both understanding when the Two Witnesses minister and the nature of that ministry. (see chart below)

Wherever the Book of Revelation is considered you can be sure there will be a discussion of chapter eleven with special attention given to the identity of the Two Witnesses. While speculating about the identity of the Two Witnesses can provide chat-room fun, students of Revelation often get bogged down on their personalities and overlook the more important things like the reason for their ministry and the timing of their appearance on earth.

The timing in relation to the rest of the events of the Tribulation is very revealing. Discerning when and how the Two Witnesses fit into God’s plan for the final week of redemption helps us understand the reason for their mission as much, if not more than if we speculate on their identity. A series of days and times given to us in the book of Daniel, coupled with disclosures in Revelation, place the ministry of the Two Witnesses in the second half of the Tribulation.

Consider that the Two Witnesses will be ministering at the zenith of the Antichrist’s power, read verses 5-13 of chapter eleven pondering them together with Revelation 13, and further consider the state of affairs due to the rest of the ongoing seal judgments, and then we begin to see how fierce and intense the battle will be between the Two Witnesses and the Antichrist. Verses 5 and 6 give us insight into the power the Two Witnesses will wield.

“And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
    These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”  Rev. 11.5-6

The ministry of the Two Witnesses and the power of the Antichrist over the saints on earth run concurrently with one another during the entire second three and a half years of the Tribulation. Some commentators have failed to realize the full implications of this fact, partly because they do not know when the Two Witnesses appear on earth. As the Two Witnesses preach against the Antichrist and lead people to salvation, encouraging them not to take the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist is doing everything he can to discourage salvation by killing those who refuse to deny Christ. The two represent the opposing sides: God vs. Satan. They are mega-combatants in a duel of gigantic proportions that lasts three and a half years. These are two spiritual heavyweights slugging it out in center ring Jerusalem. The ultimate winner of their very public battle will strike the decisive blow in the battle for souls. The victor of this battle will prove to be the one crowned as the ultimate winner of the age-old war – God or Satan; Christ or Antichrist. Most of the world is banking its hopes on the Antichrist, and not without due cause. He will have a train of miracles to give his unholy following reason for confidence.

We must jump slightly ahead now to chapter thirteen to see how impressed the world will be with the Antichrist. Revelation 13 presents us with the unholy Trinity – Satan (false God), Beast (Antichrist) and false prophet (fake Holy Spirit). The Antichrist suffers a mortal wound to the head and is raised up in a counterfeit resurrection. The world, it says, follows after him, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” Rev. 13.4

In the eyes of his adoring public, he is invincible. He sets up his throne and makes himself God in the temple of God. “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2.4 The False Prophet has the people of the earth make an image after their new god and then he is able to make this image come alive. The works of men’s hands have finally been given life. Anyone who does not worship this living image (this is surely the abomination of desolation) will be killed by it instantly. On top of this, the Beast has issued a worldwide decree that all inhabitants should have a mark in their forehead or hand as a display of their loyalty and worship for him. Anyone who does not have this mark is unable to buy or sell anything. All the while the False Prophet, we are told, will be able to do fanciful miracles and call down fire from heaven in the presence of the Beast to destroy anyone who opposes his claims of deity and absolute authority. The Antichrist will have this kind of power for 42 months and he will exert all conceivable pressures over the people of God. They will be slain and murdered in the mother of all holocausts. But, while this is taking place and the power of the Antichrist seems beyond the scope of death and Hell, or even God Himself, the Two Witnesses will be voices crying in the wilderness. They and the 144,000 Jews will be thorns in the Antichrist’s side. The “two olive trees and candlesticks” that stand before God, along with the 144,000 Jews, will be given broad, sweeping powers and total protection from all harm.

From verse five and six we can see that the Two Witnesses will have all the power that Moses and Elijah had during their ministry on earth. (This makes a good case for the two men being Moses and Elijah.) They will be able to stop the rain from falling and turn waters into blood. Droughts, death, and famines will follow in the wake of their simply speaking the word. Plush farms will be turned into deserts. Every manner of plague, we are told, will be in their power and at their disposal. They will be a scourge to the world and a judge on Israel. The Temple and altar and them that worship therein have been measured and now wherever those things are found lacking, they will be chastened and judged. All ten of the plagues that hit Egypt in days of old will be at their command. This means that all these men will have to do to send pestilence, disease, death of livestock, natural disasters, heavenly catastrophes and even death of firstborn children, is to say the word. Leprosy, instant consumption, and knee-knocking fear or anything of the sort, could strike opponents of the Two Witnesses on the spot ceasing them with instant fear and destruction, even to the death of their firstborn. They will be doing these things in localized places and under specific instances, mostly in Israel, but wherever they go they will have these total powers. They will only have to will it, and it will happen.

All during this time the Antichrist and the false prophet will be envious of the Witnesses’ power. But their rage and fury will be frustrated because they will be unable to stop or injure them. They will engage in a one-upmanship unparalleled in the history of mankind. They will be like Jannes and Jambres who withstood Moses and Aaron in the Pharaoh’s court (II Tim. 3.8), only ten times stronger. The stakes can get no higher; Satan is fighting for his life. Worship of the creation and control of the earth and universe hang in the balance. The Antichrist will have a fortified position in this battle. He will be entrenched in Jerusalem. He is the one who has reestablished the Temple and the Mosaic law. Now he has changed the times and the laws and reorganized everything with him as god sitting on the throne in the Holy of Holies. Every action, word, and movement of the Two Witnesses will be in direct opposition to the Antichrist. Their mere existence, every breath they take, will be an affront to the Antichrist’s claims of total authority and deity. The very sight of these men on television or in the streets will throw the Antichrist into a fit of rage just the way the thought or sight of Mordecai made the infamous Hamaan, in the book of Esther, tremble with anger and conspire to kill him and all the Jewish people.

“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.
    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.
    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.
    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.” Rev. 11.7-10

These four verses indicate the nature of the battle that will be taking place between the Two Witnesses and the Antichrist. The people of the earth will be choosing up sides. At this point the lines will be drawn, the choices crystal clear. There will be no gray area. Everyone will either have to take the mark of the Beast and be damned, or they will have to keep the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God and give up their lives. Because of the Antichrist’s resurrection and invincibility in war, because of the miracles of the False Prophet and the image that miraculously is given life, people of the earth will find courage to fight God, they will actually believe that the Antichrist is more powerful than the Lamb and God.

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
    Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
    And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
    And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,   that  they  should believe a lie:
    That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” II Thess. 2.8-12

They will actually believe that they are going to win and God is going to lose. Their confidence will be bolstered daily by the on-going execution of all those who proclaim to be on God’s side. Though martyrdom is God’s mercy and the Tribulation’s escape from the incredible hardships of the trumpet judgments, the people of the world will see it as a weakness of God and a sign of the power of the Antichrist and the Dragon. They will believe Satan’s lies. Because they have not received Christ, and the love of the truth, God will send them strong delusion and cause them to believe a lie. The greatest lie, of course, is that Satan can beat God, that Satan and his devotees are more powerful than God. When the Antichrist is finally able to kill the Two Witnesses it will seem to all the world that Satan has won. This will be the final thing that convinces the people of the earth that the Antichrist is the true and almighty god, worthy of worship by the world and all creation. The Antichrist will probably be directly responsible for their deaths. He will not allow their bodies to be buried but they will lie in the streets of Jerusalem. People throughout the world will watch their bodies and rejoice in the victory over God and the men that have plagued them for three and a half years. This could not have been possible until the present age of technology. What surely seemed like an impossible prophecy to our great-grandparents is easily imagined.

Arthur Bloomfield provides us with this insight:

At the report of the death of the Two Witnesses a strange thing happens. People all over the world begin to make merry and send presents one to another. This is a remarkable prophecy. There naturally will be no celebration of Christmas during the reign of the Antichrist. The Christmas habit, however, is of long standing and deep-seated. At the first provocation it breaks out afresh, and they make merry and send presents. This prophecy could not have been fulfilled in John’s day. In three and one half days the news of the death of the Two Witnesses travels around the world, a holiday is declared, and presents are purchased and sent. This requires fast communication and travel. Television.

But the victory celebration of the people of the world is short-lived.

“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.
    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.
    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.” Rev. 11.11-13

The world is shocked and frightened by the miraculous resurrection of the Two Witnesses. Imagine their fear when they suddenly realize that their god has been outwitted and overpowered by the God they have been opposing with all their might. Suddenly they hear a voice reverberate from heaven saying, “Come up hither”. These are the same words spoken to John that we earlier associated with the Rapture in chapter four verse one. The Rapture caught the world by surprise and it happened stealthily without most of the world even taking notice. Now everyone hears God’s powerful ascension voice. God shows that He is the Resurrection and the holder of eternal life. Mankind knows unequivocally that He is, and will be, the winner in the battle for control and possession of the earth. Everyone knows beyond a shadow of doubt that when God speaks it is done.

Again, Bloomfield makes this observation:

The resurrection and ascension of the Two Witnesses will make a profound impression upon the Jews. No longer can they deny the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. So the Two Witnesses will accomplish their main purpose by their death, the same as Jesus did.

In very short order the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds returning with His faithful saints to “destroy them which destroy the earth”. Rev. 11.18 The Two Witnesses’ job is to announce this fact, preach to the Jews, and declare salvation to any of the world’s beleaguered inhabitants that are still able to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master.

“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” Rev.11.14

Here we find out something important concerning the chronology of Revelation. God says outright that the end of the sixth trumpet judgment comes with the death, resurrection and ascension of the Two Witnesses. That means the only thing that follows their ministry is the final and seventh trumpet. Since their ministry lasts three and a half years during the second half of the Tribulation there must be no more than a handful of days left until Armageddon and the return of Christ with His army of saints. This fact helps us to see that the seventh trumpet, the vial judgments of total devastation of the earth (Rev. 15&16) must be very short in duration. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
    And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
    Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
    And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
    And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Rev. 11.15-19

The Actual Ark of the Covenant
As soon as the last angel sounds his trumpet the voices of the saints come cascading down from heaven telling us that God has taken control of the kingdoms of this world. All that is left is for the final vial judgments to be poured out which will last only 30 days before Christ comes back to judge the nations and “destroy them which destroy the earth”. Again we see the 24 elders, those raptured saints being given the privileged position of worshiping God at this defining moment of human history. The world and humankind is now on the brink of judgment day. The nations are about to gather against Christ at Armageddon. The time is drawing near for the rewards to be given to the prophets and saints according to their faith and works. Those who have pressed for the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus are about to receive their crowns of gold. Those who have given their lives for the testimony of Christ and the Word of God will be given their special crowns of life and white robes as martyrs. The servants who have been faithful stewards of God’s gifts will shortly receive authority over ten, five or two cities, all according to what they had done when they were in their bodies on this earth. Those servants who have hidden their gifts and done nothing with them will suffer loss and be ashamed. Those who were fearful, doubting and lustful will be cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 21.8)

All of heaven – now free from the blight of Satan and his hoard of demons – anticipates the last judgment which will seal up the promises and consummate the redemption process started back in chapters four and five when Christ broke the first seal on the title deed to the earth. The temple in heaven is opened. And for the first time since the reign of the kings in Judah the Bible reveals the ark of the covenant. We now see the true ark; the original, the one used as the pattern given to Moses in the wilderness more than thirty-five hundred years earlier. To Israel the ark was the symbol of God’s presence and authority. When Israel moved in the wilderness the ark always went before the camp. The priests carried the ark and the hosts of the twelve tribes followed it. When Israel moved into the Promised Land the ark was brought to the banks of the Jordan River and the waters parted so the people could enter into the promises of God. Now God once again reveals the ark of His testament because He has His true priests (Rev. 1.6) in heaven to “bear” it before His hosts as they prepare to leave heaven with Jesus on white horses to take back the earth once and for all. (Rev. 19 11-14)

The chapter and chronology of Revelation ends with lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake and great hail. God is about to mobilize His armies. To soften up the enemy He begins shelling earth with a barrage of both natural and heavenly disasters. The voices heard on earth are the war cries of saints and angels preparing for the battle.

Manifestations of God’s awesome power from lightnings and thunderings shake the skies sending shock waves and concussions throughout the earth’s atmosphere for what will seem like a lifetime to the faithless rebels of earth. An earthquake has already destroyed a tenth of Jerusalem. But now an awesome one hits Israel again. The Bible tells of a time when Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives and it shall split in half. This could be that earthquake. (Zech. 14.4) Then like an artillery commander, God further softens the enemy with a bombardment of “great” hail. Hailstones of enormous weight and size will pummel men and their property causing everyone to run for cover. All this will precede the full intense judgment that is about to come on the earth which will last only about 30 days (Rev. 15 & 16). The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord is at hand and no one will be able to withstand it. ✞

Taken from the book Revelation Pure & Simple by Terry Myers Smith