Revelation 11 continues the command, “you must prophesy again.” Revelation 11:1-2, “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.”
Let’s look at Mathew 7:2 for what “measure” means. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” To “measure” means to judge, not find the physical size of the heavenly temple.
Let’s look at Ezekiel 43:10-12, “Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws.
Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them. This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.”
Ezekiel 43:10-12 is about the Day of Atonement and is profound. S7M10 presents the Jewish feasts I adapted for “post Jesus” worship and the Old Testament “Day of Atonement” is the heart of Ezekiel 43:10-12. Jesus made that feast obsolete with his sacrifice but not in the need to still repent. That is why I believe we should continue the feasts because we still need more reminders of what our relationship with our Abba Father means than we get today with only Christmas and Paschal Sunday (Easter).
This is really getting into the weeds but Leviticus 16 presents the high priest’s duties for the Day of Atonement preparation and Revelation 11:2 omits the high priest’s cleansing duties because the high priest is now Jesus. The details of the temple expressed above are symbolic of the full majesty of our Abba Father.
When we think physical, we see a temple building. The design of the earth temple Most Holy Place is the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant with the ten commandment stones inside, surrounded by the Cherubim images. That is patterned after the heavenly temple which is where our heart and mind are led to, just as Holy Communion leads us to the cross. That leap needs to be part of our everyday life for us to live in the total world, the physical taking us to the spirit until it is our nature.
It seems odd that John would be judging anything related to the heavenly temple but he is now a prophet called to act as Ezekiel was called. But also, we choose to enter the temple based on how we judge its value to our lives. The Angel is telling john and us to make our choice and live in it before it’s too late. Please pray on that.
Romans 11:3, ”And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.” The gentiles tread the earthly church and heavenly Jerusalem for the same forty-two months which is the 1260 years that the church-state held the saints captive, ending in 1798 AD.
Obviously, there is no physical Jerusalem that matters. Let’s look at Luke 21:20-24 written before the 70 AD destruction, “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. . . And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” That starts with the 70 AD destruction and continues on until “the times of the gentiles is fulfilled” in 1798.
Romans 11:3 cont., “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” The 1260 year prophesy. That tells us that the two witnesses continue to testify for our Abba Father for the same period, in sackcloth because the heavenly temple is defiled and in mourning. Two witnesses are important from Deuteronomy 17:6, “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.” The stakes are high. So who are the two witnesses?
Romans 11:4-5, “These (witnesses) are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.” Jesus can do that!
Let’s look at Zechariah 4:1-6, “Now the angel . . . wakened me . . . So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it . . . Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered . . . saying, “What are these, my lord . . . So he answered and said to me, This is the word of the LORD . . .” Also look at 2 Peter 1:19, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
Jesus is the word and the light and the oil fuels the light. The pre-incarnate Jesus is throughout the Old Testament. Pre-incarnate Jesus in the Old Testament and incarnate Jesus in the New Testament are the two witnesses that testify to us about the kingdom of God. I actually see the “oil” as our Abba Father as described in Ephesians 4, “above all, in all and through all.”
Romans 11:7, “When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”
That material beast is the “king of the south” in Daniel 11, France and the French Revolution, a pagan effort fueled by the enemy. The French Revolution completely changed the world order as Europe became individual nations that through off the monarchies, ushering in the enemy’s despots and all the ”isms” revealed in discussing Daniel 11.
Please notice, “spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.” This makes it clear we are not seeing ancient cities but what they symbolize. Sodom was the city of sexual depravity and Egypt was a pagan nation. The “great city” is Paris, a city known for both at the time. “ . . . where also our Lord was crucified” is still Paris, the key word is “also,” happening in spirit.
Romans 11:9-10, “Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”
You can research the de-Christianization of France (“also crucified”) in the revolution with Robespierre and the guillotine etc. It was brutal, executing the nuns in monasteries and burying them in mass graves. What is amazing is that a decree was issued to close all churches in Paris in November 1793. The churches were re-opened in April of 1797, 3½ years later. Why? Because the “two prophets,” the two witnesses, the Scripture, prevailed!
Romans 11:11-12, “Now after the three-and-a-half days (the 3½ years in prophetic time) the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.”
These verses are referring to the restoration of the churches which came back very strong and spread the word throughout the region. The word of God cannot be defeated. But we must understand “great fear fell on those who saw them” or we will completely miss what is happening.
Let’s look at Deuteronomy 10:12-13, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” The people were serving our Abba Father heading into the Second Great Awakening. There is such a stark contrast here between the fear in the revolution and the “fear” of our Abba Father.
Romans 11:13, “In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.” That is a summary statement, common in the Scripture to fit a pattern. The “great earthquake” is a symbolic reference to the French Revolution which completely reshaped the world. The “tenth” is a reference to France as one of the ten horns with Clovis in 508 AD that came out of the Roman Empire.
“Seven thousand” is a symbolic number. We have seen that number before in Romans 11:3-4, Paul quoting Elijah, “LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” The “seven thousand” highlights they were strong believers killed.
Romans 11:14, “The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” The second “woe” is the French Revolution and the reign of terror on believers. The third woe is presented in Revelation 13.
Romans 11:15, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Let’s go back to Revelation 10:7, “but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”
The obvious mystery is the return of Jesus, but there is much more. Ephesians 5:28-32, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
The end time is the marriage of Christ and his bride, the church, the body of Christ. That is our relationship and that is our INSPIRATION. That view is so far above (like Heaven) what ELB delivers to us focused only on the material world.
In ancient times, the groom would go to the father’s house without the bride, get married, and then come get the bride and return to the father’s house for the wedding feast. This is exactly what Jesus is doing. He did his work on the cross, went to his Father’s house, married his bride (received his kingdom) and is returning to get her and go to Father’s house (the new Jerusalem) on the new earth. We need to be ready whenever he comes. Prayerfully you will see how much bigger than salvation is what our Abba Father has created for us.
Romans 11:16-18, “And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.” The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” I leave these verses to you.
Romans 11:19, “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” “And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.” We are now looking into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly temple.
Let’s look at Exodus 19:16-17, “Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.”
We are going to be with our all loving, all powerful, Abba Father.
