Revelation Lesson 11
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The Book of Revelation
Lesson 11, Chapter 10-11
By Cindy Ketron
On The Edge of Eternity
Revelation 10 is a strange chapter. I say that tongue in cheek as pretty much everything we’ve read so far is strange! At the end of Rev. 9, the 6th trumpet has sounded and although people of the earth know that God’s wrath is raining down upon them, we learn that “they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts”. These are stiff-necked people! As with the other judgments, after the 6th one of the 7, we take a break. Rev. 10 is that break and I think our brains and our hearts need these breaks because this is heavy stuff folks! Then, when we get into Rev. 11, the final trumpet will be blown and the 7 bowls of wrath will be poured out.
We read the fact that these people flatly refused to repent from their immoralities and it blows our minds! But, you see, we are not delusional. They will be delusional. C.S. Lewis wrote a little book called, The Great Divorce in 1944. If you haven’t read it, it’s an easy read with a profound message! In the book, those who are in hell get an opportunity to catch a bus to heaven and become a heaven-dweller. Of course, in order to stay there, they have to put their faith in Christ and become obedient to God. In this story, those who caught the bus to heaven eventually chose to go back to hell instead of submitting to God. It seems that this is exactly what we have here in the book of Revelation. If the earth-dwellers who are left alive know that all they have to do is submit to God and follow Him in order to get to heaven, then why in the world wouldn’t they do it?!!!! BECAUSE THEY ARE DELUSIONAL!
This week, we’re going to study about a tasty little book. I told you this chapter was strange.
Read all of Rev. 10. Describe the angel spoken of in Rev. 10:1.
There’s a lot of disagreement amongst biblical scholars regarding the personage of this mighty angel. Is this “strong angel” actually Jesus Christ, or is he a strong angel?
2. Read the following verses and note what similarities you find between Jesus and the description of the strong angel of Rev. 10:1:
Rev. 1:7
Rev. 1:15-16
Rev. 4:3
I’m sure that by now you can see why there would be a debate about this strong angel. Many believe the strong angel is Jesus because of the other verses that describe Him. In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is sometimes referred to as the angel of the Lord. However, He is never described in that manner in the New Testament. If this angel is a reference to Jesus, it would be the first reference of this kind in the New Testament.
I believe there is a key word here that might help us to ascertain who this angel is or is not. The word another in this verse is the Greek word, allos, which means another of the same kind. Basically, another mighty angel would be the rendering in Greek for this verse. It is because of this word that some believe the angel of Rev. 10:1 is actually an angel and not Jesus. From the context of the verse, this angel is not the 6th angel who blew his trumpet, nor is he the 7th angel who will blow his trumpet in Rev. 11:15. If, as some would have us believe, this angel is Jesus Christ, then He would be coming down from heaven to earth during the time of tribulation. If that were the case, then what we refer to as the 2nd coming of Christ, would actually be the 3rd coming of Christ. I firmly believe that this angel is a strong angel that God has endowed with a lot of power and authority.
Read Rev. 10:2-4. I’ll be honest, v. 4 drives me nuts! I know I’m a very nosey female. That may be part of the reason I’m in the field of counseling! I get to nose around in other people’s business. But to know that something significant happened and John was told not to say anything about it, well…….I would have been just fine without knowing that little tidbit of information. Don’t even try to guess what the thunder said. If God wanted us to know, it would be there in the text.
In a review of the wrath of God (7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 bowls), we can’t leave out the 7 thunders. We generally don’t list them, but they should be listed amongst the 7’s of this book. Whatever was said was not for our listening ears, only John’s.
3.What do you think the little book is?
4. Have we read anything so far in the book of Revelation that has to do with a book or a scroll and if so, what have we learned from previous chapters? (Rev. 5 may give you some insight.)
I’ve read some Bible commentators who say that the little book is the 7-sealed scroll from Rev. 5:1. However, there are different Greek words used to describe the word book in Rev. 5:1 and Rev. 10:2. The reference in Rev. 5:1 means book or scroll. The reference in Rev. 10:2 means booklet or small book.
5. So, if the little book is not the 7-sealed scroll, what is it?
6.What is John told to do with the little book in Rev. 10:9?
We’ll learn a bit more about this little book as we get further into our lesson. The Word of God is often referred to as food.
7. Read the following verses and note how the Scripture is connected to food:
Matthew 4:4
1 Pet. 2:2
1 Cor. 3:1-2
Psalm 119:103
I think we can deduct from these verses that the little book in Rev. 10 is indeed the Word of God. I have a dear friend named Doris and she’s in this class. Let me tell you about her. She will be reading this lesson along with the rest of the class. Doris did not get saved until she was in her 40’s. I won’t tell you how old she is, but she’s been a Christian now for a few decades. She devours the Scripture. I don’t know how she does it, but she does 4-5 Bible studies at a time. I can barely get through 1! It is as if she cannot get enough of it. She’ll tell you that she’s making up for lost time and she’s always hungry to learn more. (Love you Doris!)
I will confess to you that many times, I find myself being a knowledge reader and seeker. I don’t read a lot of fiction books. I read a lot of informational books. I am a researcher of information and when it comes to biblical information, I read everything I can get my hands on. Today, I am stopping in my tracks because I realize even as I type this that God doesn’t just want me to devour information. He wants me to digest His Word and live by it. This reminds me of a dear pastor-friend of mine who once said, “The Word of God was not given to us just to enhance our lives. It was given to us to transform our lives.” Friends, when we come to the Word of God, we must look at it as food that will give us life and nourish us, not just as an accumulation of Biblical knowledge. Do you want to be spiritually healthy? Then digest the Word of God!
We are not told what is in this little book, just like we were not told what was in the 7 thunders.
9. Where is this strong angel standing?
When the angel cries aloud, the 7 thunders billow from the heavens!
10. During a really bad storm when thunder is especially loud, does the thunder itself speak?
And yet, this particular thunder is speaking. It is more than just the sound of thunder, actual words are contained within these thunders. Furthermore, John understands what the 7 thunders are saying. The book of Revelation is in essence, the unveiling revelation of Jesus Christ, and oh what details we have been privy to so far. But in this particular instance, John is not permitted to record what he heard. Why would God reveal all these other details and leave us in the dark about what was contained in the 7 thunders? I don’t know. Inquiring minds (my mind) want to know!
11. Who does this strong angel swear by in Rev. 10:6? What does he declare?
12. Read Heb. 6:13-18. Who did God swear by and why?
God did not owe Abraham the pleasure of having the God of the universe swear something to him. God did this because He wanted Abraham to have no doubt about His blessings towards him. There is no one higher to swear by than God Himself. If He swears to Himself, this is meant to encourage us and to let us know that He will do what He says He will do. His value is infinitely more than anyone else’s. Therefore, although the strong angel swore by “Him who lives forever and ever.”, it would not be completely out of the norm for Jesus to say this of Himself since this has already happened before in Scripture.
This is yet another indication that the strong angel is an angel and not Jesus Christ.
13. What do you think the angel meant by “time shall be no more”?
It should not surprise you that this too is up for some debate. Time is a relative term to us. We know what time of the day it is. We schedule appointments to see the doctor and to get together with friends. This is not the kind of time that is meant in this verse. At some point in time, we will make a shift to the eternal state. The eternal state is also not what is meant by this verse. What is meant by “time shall be no more” is that God’s mercy in holding back judgment from the earth dwellers has ceased. There will be no more mercy and no more grace available for those who are still alive who have shook their fists in the face of God.
Have you ever been watching a tv show when some emergency announcement comes on? It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. And then when the tv show begins again, there is sometimes a message that says, “The show will now continue without any further interruptions or delay”. At this point in the story, there will be no further delays. The culmination of all of Scripture is getting ready to play out. The possibility of salvation is gone with the exception of that remnant of Jewish people who God has hidden away safely. (We’ll get to that later on in the book.) It is difficult for our human minds to conceive of the ceasing of time in regards to the beginning of eternity. There will still be some kind of time relationship in that one event will follow another event.
15. In Rev. 10:7, what do you think is meant by “the mystery of God”?
16. Who was this mystery declared to?
The mystery of God was spoken of in the Old Testament. That mystery was the establishment of His kingdom on earth. They didn’t know the particulars, but they trusted that it would one day come to fruition. The mystery of God in the New Testament is mentioned in several places.
17. Read the following verses and note what you learn about the mystery of God:
Col. 2:1-3
Eph. 1:9-10
Col. 1:25-27
In the New Testament, a “mystery” speaks of something that had once been hidden, but is now revealed to His children. The key to that mystery is Jesus Christ. We could never get to God if it were not for our Lord. God’s plan to bring human beings into an eternal relationship with Himself happens only by the shedding of innocent blood. And the only innocent blood that has ever existed is Christ. Not only did He have to die, He had to be resurrected. Sometimes we leave that important tidbit out of our explanation of the Gospel. His resurrection paved a way for our future resurrection. The fullness of that entire mystery of the Gospel is about to be fulfilled.
18. Rev. 10:8 mentions “the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again”. Who is this voice? (Rev. 4:1)
19. As you read through Rev. 10, how many times do you read that this strong angel stands upon the sea and the earth?
20. In Rev. 10:8-10, when John was told to eat this little book, how did it affect him.
Whoaaaa! Wait just a minute!
21. Didn’t we just read that God’s Word was nourishing for us? How can we reconcile that it made John sick?
I told you early on that Revelation is a difficult book. It is difficult for one reason because it is written in language that describes scenes we have no context for and we cannot even visualize many of them in the way they are described. Some of the pictures that John paints for our minds are frightening to say the least. Guess what, God meant for them to be frightening, not to us, but to those who will be left on earth during that terrible period when all of this will play out. We are living in a fallen world and it seems that this old world is getting more evil by the day. God gives us a glimpse into what the last earth-dwellers will experience without Jesus as their Savior. It encourages us because we get to see the end of the story before the end of the story occurs. But, my oh my, how it makes me sick to think about some of the people I love so dearly going through this horrendous time which will come upon the whole earth. And it makes me even more sick to think about those loved ones rejecting God in these last days and going to an eternal hell. This was the bitterness that John experienced. He devoured the little book and because he loved God and His Word, it tasted good to him, like honey, but when he realized that there was more suffering to come upon the earth, it turned his stomach sour.
22. I want you to think about those in your sphere of influence who do not know Jesus as their personal Savior. Write their names down in the space below. It should make your stomach bitter to think about them suffering through this hell on earth known as the Great Tribulation. Commit yourself to pray for these loved ones and if you have a plan to reach out to them, write out that plan beside each of their names.
The imagery of this scene with the little book is not the first time we’ve seen this in the Bible. We’ve already read verses about the Word of God as food for our souls.
23. Now, read the following verses and note what you learn about devouring the “book”:
Ezekiel 2:8-10 and Ezekiel 3:1-4 and v. 14
Following God’s Word is precious to us as His children. But following His Word may also mean that we are drinking persecution and heartache for ourselves. This was John’s experience. Had he kept his mouth shut and not proclaimed the name of Jesus, he would not have been sent to a harsh labor camp on the Isle of Patmos. In this regard, Scripture is sweet and bitter at the same time. I cannot help but think of the prophet Jeremiah who sobbed and begged his people to return to God. And because God revealed a very solemn plan that involved captivity, those words had to make his soul sick. Today as I write this, there are many Christians in Nigeria who are being persecuted and killed for their faith in Jesus Christ. If the Word of God was not precious to them, they would not be willing to die for the truth contained therein. But that persecution and death in many cases is a bitter pill to swallow.
24.In Rev. 10:11, to whom is John supposed to prophesy?
Henry Swete comments on the word “many” used in this verse and says that it “emphasizes the greatness of the field. It is no one Empire or Emperor that is concerned in the prophecies of the second half of the Apocalypse; not merely Rome or Nero or Domitian, but a multitude of races, kingdoms, and crowned heads.” (Henry B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 132.)
25. What are we told to do in Matthew 28:18-20?
These were the marching orders that Jesus left for His disciples and for us before He ascended into heaven. This is a direct charge, an imperative command. If He had not said, “And lo I will be with you always, even unto the end of the world”, I’m not sure any of us would have the guts to spread the Gospel. It is because of the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we can step out and confidently proclaim the Word of Jesus, regardless of the results and regardless of danger! There may be times that it is tough and times that it is bitter, but the sweetness of the Word will always be a comfort to us.
As we head into Rev. 11, I want you to know that this chapter is one of the most difficult to understand. And, as with many other passages in the book of Revelation, there is wide disagreement as to what some of this chapter means. There is no need to allegorize this entire chapter as some would do. The periods of time, the individuals, the earthquakes, and the 2 witnesses, can and should be taken literally in my opinion and I base this upon what I have gleaned from my study.
26. Read Rev. 11:1-2. What exactly was John told to measure and not to measure and why?
If you read through the entire chapter of Rev. 11, verses 1-2 seem to be oddly placed. The phrase, “the angel stood saying” is not in some manuscripts. And because it is not in some manuscripts, I don’t think we can absolutely assign these words to the angel. It could have been God the Father or God the Son who uttered these words. The Temple of God refers to the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The altar that is mentioned in Rev. 11:1 could be the brazen altar, we don’t know.
27. The altar that was mentioned back in Rev. 8:2-6 appears to be a different altar. What altar do you think this is?
Let’s look at the temples that God has outlined in holy Scripture to put all of this in better context. I get confused if I can’t see it laid out for me and if I get confused, I’ll bet other folks do as well.
Rev. 11 is not the first time in Scripture that we see God giving instructions for measuring nor will it be the last. When we get over to Rev. 21, we will see this again.
28. What do you learn from the following verses about measuring? (note - only give the general building and areas being measured. Do not worry about any of the fine details)
Zech 2:1-2
Ezekiel 40-42
Rev. 21:15-17
There is a similarity with all of these chapters and verses. In each instance, what is measured is linked to God and His property. The temple that is measured in Rev. 11 is the temple that will be standing during the time of the Great Tribulation. It is in this temple that the Antichrist will make his home and will desecrate the altar in what is referred to as the abomination of desolation.
The temple itself is not very large. We know that the temple will be rebuilt, but what we don’t know is the exact location of where it will be built. The reason we do not know this is because there is no general consensus as to the exact location of the first 2 temples. Wherever the first 2 temples were built is where the 3rd one will be built. Many believe that the Islamic holy site where the Dome of the Rock/Al Aqsa Mosque is located will be the site. Therefore, we have to ask ourselves, would this Islamic temple be torn down so that the 3rd Jewish temple could be erected? Would Jews stand for this? Would Muslims stand for this? Would the world stand for this? I don’t know. If the first 2 temples were built on the exact location of the Al Aqsa Mosque, then the Al Aqsa Mosque is going to come tumbling down just like the walls of Jericho did in the book of Joshua.. There is enough room for both the 3rd Jewish temple and the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. It’s a wait-and- see game.
When President Trump rolled out the Abraham Accords during his first administration, part of that plan involved the Temple Mount. That plan states that “people of every faith should be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount/Hamam al-Sharif, in a manner that is fully respectful to their religion, taking into account the times of each religion’s prayers and holidays, as well as other religious factors.”
Currently, Israel maintains overall security control of the Temple Mount, but it is policed by the Jordanian Waqf which is Muslim. This was the arrangement that was reached after the 1967 Six-Day-War. There are very stringent rules for entering the Temple Mount. Non-Muslims can only enter through one gate, while Muslims can enter through any gate. Non-Muslim visiting hours are restricted to Sunday-Thursday, 7:30-11:00 am and 1:30-2:30 pm. And, this can change without notice. Visitors are forbidden to bring Jewish or Christian holy books, prayer shawls, or other religious artifacts onto the Temple Mount. Also non-Muslims are forbidden to pray on the Temple Mount and must wear modest attire and cover their shoulders and knees.
There has been ongoing conflict over who can and cannot visit this area and this has especially been true since Oct. 7, 2023. Jewish activists have challenged these rules by going to the Temple Mount and praying. During the Biden administration, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount. Our then Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a meltdown and said that Ben-Gvir’s actions represented a “blatant disregard” for the rules. Expect more of this as we move closer to the time of the rapture. With Israel becoming more and more empowered, there is going to be a change. That empowerment has been sparked by the worldwide antisemitism and Israel’s resolve to protect themselves and do what needs to be done in regards to the Temple Mount, Gaza, and perhaps even Judea and Samaria. As Dan Bongino would say, “Cutsey time is over!”
Although Saudi Arabia verbalized their displeasure over Ben-Gvir’s actions, they have since questioned the validity of whether the Temple Mount truly was the site where Muhummad ascended to Allah. I can answer that question. NOOOO!!! Today, the Muslim/Palestinians do not believe that a 3rd Jewish temple will be built. Here are a few of their sentiments; “There has never been a Jewish temple atop the Temple Mount.” (Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, grand mufti of Jerusalem, 2015) “This plan is based on the biggest lie in history. It is nonsense….as if there ever was a Jewish temple in Jerusalem.” (Izzat al-Rishq, Hamas’ Political Bureau) I’d like to tell you that most of those who follow Islam don’t believe like this, but unfortunately, they do. They are the ones perpetuating the lie.
Although the tribulation temple will be built for the worship of the Jewish people and the renewal of the sacrificial system that has not been used since AD 70, it will be desecrated by the Antichrist.
29. What do you learn in the following verses about the 3rd temple and the Antichrist? (We studied about this in lesson 9.)
2 Thess. 2:1-4
Dan. 9:27
Dan. 12:11
30. In Rev. 11:2, how long will the holy city, Jerusalem be trampled under foot?
The time element that is mentioned repeatedly is either 42 months, 3 ½ years, half of the week, or time, times and half a time. These are all the same thing and the fact that this particular time element is mentioned in 4 different ways and is mentioned repeatedly tells me that Jesus does not want us to have any question about how long this time will last. If the tribulation is 7 years, then half of that would be the number above, 3 ½ years.
So now the question becomes, which part of the 7 year period are we talking about here in Rev. 11, the first half or the second half? There is also some disagreement here, but most of the sources I checked believe this is speaking of the second half. In my estimation, only the second half makes sense here. If this 3rd Jewish temple is built with the intention of beginning the Jewish sacrificial system, then we’d have to conclude that the Jews would be in charge. When we read that the "outer temple belongs to the Gentiles” and that the “holy city will be trod under foot for 42 months” it makes far more sense that this period of time would culminate with the 2nd coming of Christ which would put it in the 2nd half of the tribulation period.
If you haven’t figured it out already, Jerusalem will be the epicenter of the world at the time of the tribulation. As much as we might want to think that we have it going on here in the Western Hemisphere, nothing is mentioned of our geographical area in end-time prophecy.
31. Read Luke 21:24. What will happen to the Jews at this time and what is this time referred to?
There is a difference between The Fullness of the Gentiles and The Time of the Gentiles. Because we are presenting the timeline from a pre-rapture/pre-millennial point of view, we make a distinction between these 2 terms. Gentile rule began to be measured in a biblical manner when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Israel/Judah into captivity. From that time on, Israel has had Gentile kings ruling over them.
The Fullness of the Gentiles occurs when the rapture of the Church occurs. That means that the last Gentile convert during the Church Age will trigger the rapture. It is in essence the completion or fullness of the Church. This time period begins with the origination of the Church. It ends with the rapture of the Church.
The Time of the Gentiles is a much longer period of time that began with the Babylonian captivity of Daniel’s day and stretches until the 2nd coming of Christ. When He returns to earth, He will conquer every Gentile ruler and set up His own kingdom on earth for 1000 years.
32. Read Rev. 11:3-6. Who is mentioned in these verses and do we know the identity of them?
33. How many lampstands and olive trees are mentioned in these verses?
34. Are these the same people?
This is not the first place in Scripture where we see 2 witnesses. Remember that for the Jewish mind, prophecy is a pattern of something that has happened in the past and will happen again in the future.
35. Read Zech. 4. How many lampstands and olive trees are mentioned in this chapter
Here is the analogy:
Olive Trees - represent the oil of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, they represent the strength and power of the Holy Spirit.
Lampstands - represent the light of the Holy Spirit that others can see.
Therefore, 2 Lampstands = 2 Olive Trees
There is a rule put forth in Scripture called the 2-witness rule. This basically means that any idea needs to be confirmed by 2 witnesses.
36. Read Deut. 19:15-21. What do you learn about the law of 2 witnesses in these verses?
The 2 witnesses in Rev. 11 are empowered by the Holy Spirit so that the entire earth is aware of them and can see that they have supernatural abilities. These 2 witnesses warn the earth-dwellers of impending doom if they do not repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. They will witness for 1260 days (3 ½ years) during the tribulation period. The vision of Zechariah and what John witnesses in Rev. 11 are only slightly different, but the meaning is the same.
Here’s what we have in Rev. 11:
2 Lampstands
2 Olive Trees
2 Lampstands = 2 Olive Trees
2 Witness rule
The olive trees represent the presence of the Holy Spirit as the feeding mechanism for the lampstands. In other words, it is the olive oil that feeds the lampstands and gives them light.
37. The olive trees/lampstands have very specific powers. What are they?
John’s knowledge of the identity of the 2 witnesses is a matter-of-fact kind of thing as if he should know because he knew Old Testament Scripture.
38. There are 2 men in the Old Testament who had these same powers. Do you remember who they are?
39. In Matt. 17:1-3, who were the 2 men on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus.
While we cannot say with 100% accuracy who these 2 witnesses are in Rev. 11, we can make a pretty educated guess based on the Scriptural pattern we see. Moses and Elijah exactly fit the description of the 2 witnesses, and this would also correspond with the 2-witness rule having represented the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah). Both of these men had unfinished ministries and in Rev. 11, we see that the ministries of the 2 witnesses will not end until God allows them to end.
40.Read Rev. 11:7-10. What happens to these 2 witnesses?
41. How long do they remain dead?
42. Who is responsible for killing them?
41. What happens to their bodies?
43. How do the people of the world respond to the news of their death?
While we may mourn in reading about the deaths of these 2 godly witnesses, we must remember that God is sovereign in allowing this and even in ordaining this. These 2 witnesses stand before the Lord in what they do upon the earth, just as the lampstand and oil were before Him in the earthly and heavenly temples. These 2 men will prophesy about God and anyone who tries to harm them will be annihilated until God is ready to call them back to heaven. Stonewall Jackson once famously said, “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me,” I believe the 2 witnesses of Rev. 11 will have the same motto because they stand before God with complete confidence. I think Charlie Kirk stood before God in this manner as well.
In our last lesson on Rev. 9, we learned about the bottomless pit/abyss that was opened up to release the hoard of demonic entities upon the earth. This means that this place has an immeasurable depth. This place that housed those demonic entities in Rev. 9 is also the same place from which this beast resides and it is the place where Satan will be bound for 1000 years once we get over to Rev. 20. The bottomless pit is also associated with a place called Tartarus that we read about in 2 Pet. 2:4. It is the place where the angels from Gen. 6 who came down from heaven and had sexual relations with human women are held. Jude 6 also speaks of these angels. So, who exactly is this “beast who makes war against the 2 witnesses”? Rev. 11 is our first introduction to him. We will be introduced to another beast in the second part of the book.
I want you to notice something. John does not define the personage coming out of the abyss as a beast, but as the Beast. The definite article, “the”, makes all the difference for us as readers in knowing and understanding that there is only 1 beast here and his identity is linked throughout the book of Revelation to the Antichrist. Just as we understand the Trinity as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, there is also a satanic trinity that we’ll see in the book of Revelation; Satan/the Dragon, the Antichrist/Beast, and the false prophet. We’ll learn more about them when we get over to chapter 13. Keep in mind that the word beast is used for the Antichrist and his system.
I read some Bible commentaries that define this beast as Satan. That cannot be true. Satan is not currently in the abyss. He is roaming the earth “seeking to devour whom he can”.(Job 1:6-7, 1 Pet. 5:8) It makes more sense that this is the Antichrist who is empowered by Satan. The abyss is the deepest place of hell where demons were afraid to go. It is where the fallen angels of Gen. 6 currently reside. It is where the demons of Luke 8:31 were afraid to go. There are some bad hombres there!
Let’s reason through this a bit. Since this beast will come out of the abyss, we must assume that it/he is an entity that previously existed in some form on the earth and was cast into this holding place. In other words, this beast will be a resurrected entity who was previously on the earth and was sent to the abyss. He will have a satanic source of power, but he is not Satan.
44. Read 2 Thess. 2:8-10. What will Satan give to the lawless one?
45. Read ahead to Rev. 17:8. What do you learn about the beast from this verse?
Let’s break this down:
He was……..he previously existed on the earth.
He is not……he died and went to the abyss part of hell.
He is about to come out of the abyss….either his spirit will be resurrected in some form and placed in a living body, or he will be resurrected in spirit and body as he previously existed.
This information is very important to keep in the back of your mind as we move deeper into understanding the personage of this individual. We will see him again when we get over to Rev. 13. This is one reason that I say the book of Revelation is not exactly in chronological order, but is mostly in chronological order. There are things that are introduced in one chapter and then unpacked in later chapters.
46. When the 2 witnesses are killed, what city does this take place in?
Sodom and Egypt are mentioned here, but they seem to be only symbolic of the evil and corruption that took place in these 2 locations in ancient times. We know where our Lord was crucified (and it was not Sodom or Egypt) and as we have already discussed, this place is the epicenter of the book of Revelation.
47. Why do you think the bodies of these 2 witnesses were allowed to lie in the street for 3 ½ days?
And if you are wondering why I refer to “those that dwell upon the earth” as the earth-dwellers, it is because this phrase is used a dozen or more times to describe the wicked people who were on the earth during the time of the tribulation. Righteous people have always and will always be antagonizing to the wicked. We have seen this throughout world history and we see it today. Any time a righteous person takes a public stand, all hell breaks loose through wicked people. Since Charlie Kirk’s death, I have seen countless transgender people speak out against his “transphobic” ideas. His death alone is proof that wickedness hates righteousness. Darkness hates light.
Remember this always, silencing a witness of the truth by death never silences the truth!
Once God raptures these 2 witnesses back to heaven, the party on earth celebrating their death is over! All the celebration and gift giving and “party til you drop” atmosphere evaporates in an instant. The taking up into heaven of these 2 witnesses has some similarities and differences to those who have already been taken up into heaven.
Both Enoch and Elijah were taken up into heaven without dying. We learn this in Gen. 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11. For Enoch, he was walking with God on earth and then in an instant, he was with God in heaven. For Elijah, he literally went out in a blaze of glory when he was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. There are others who were taken up to heaven. In the rapture of the Church, believers who were still alive were taken up.
48. Who will see this event? (1 Thess. 4:16-17)
49. Where will the raptured believers meet Jesus?
50. When Jesus ascended into heaven, who saw this event? (Acts 1:9-11)
51. In what manner did He ascend?
The rapture of the Church and Jesus’s ascension both involved being “caught up in the clouds”. I
52.In Rev. 11:11-12, in what manner did the 2 witnesses ascend?
53. Who saw them?
54. Read Rev. 11:13-14. A simultaneous event occurs when the 2 witnesses ascend into heaven. What is it?
55. Who exactly is the remnant mentioned in these verses?
Obviously, anyone who witnessed such an event would be scared to death! And if they’re not, they should be. And to be witness to such an event would lead everyone seeing the event to be aware that the God of heaven is the One who caused this event to occur. When Jesus ascended into heaven, only those who were in that geographical area saw this. Now that we have satellite images cast across the globe, the entire world will see this miraculous rapture in real time.
So the question is, whether the “remnant” who were frightened and who gave glory to the God of heaven are saved people or unsaved people. Here is another place in this book where scholars disagree. Some say that this remnant of people repented and were converted right there on the spot because they gave glory to the God of heaven. Others say that this remnant is not the faithful remnant who are mentioned in Rev. 12:17. Those in Rev. 12 are said to “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”. I am kind of on the fence with this one. You will have to decide based on the information given whether you think the remnant in Rev. 11 represents saved or unsaved people.
With the taking up into heaven of the 2 witnesses, the 2nd woe is past and the 3rd woe is announced.
56. Read Rev. 11:15. Who were the voices speaking in this verse and what did they say?
Again, if you are looking at this as being in chronological order, you might declare “Game Over!” at this point. To understand this, we need to revisit the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. In Rev. 5, we looked at the manner in which these judgments would unfold. When the 7th seal is opened, the 7 trumpets are released. When the 7th trumpet sounds, the 7 bowls of wrath are released. So what we see declared from heaven when that 7th trumpet sounds is the realization that the end of this story of torment is going to be over soon and Christ will be ruling and reigning upon the earth.
Now, we still have half of this book to go and the last half is going to fill in what happens between the 7th trumpet and the 7th bowl of wrath. I know this is confusing, but hang with me here.
57. Read Rev. 9:13-14. Describe what happened when the 6th angel sounded his trumpet.
You may want to look back to last week’s lesson to familiarize yourself with the layout of the tabernacle. This was a copy of the layout in heaven. Instead of having the mercy seat in heaven, there is the actual throne which God sits on. In front of His throne is the golden altar of incense which has 4 horns, one on each corner. Back in Rev. 8:3, we were witness to a scene in heaven where this altar was located and where the prayers of the saints were mixed with the fire from this altar and cast to the earth causing a great earthquake. Below, you can see how the priest might have tended to this altar in the temple and tabernacle.
58. Read Rev. 11:16-18. This is the 7th time in this book that we’ve seen the 24 elders. What are they doing in these verses?
59. Read Rev. 11:19. What was opened in heaven and what did John see?
There is a lot of discussion that has gone on for the past several years regarding the location of the ark of the covenant and whether it was destroyed or whether it exists in some undisclosed location awaiting its placement in the tribulation temple. There are those who believe that the prophet Jeremiah hid the ark prior to the Babylonian exile and there are those who say they know with absolute proof where it is. We haven’t seen the “absolute proof” yet, but perhaps it is there.
60. If John saw the ark in the heavenly temple, does that mean that the one that was previously in the temple in Jerusalem was taken to heaven, or is this one in heaven the original and the one on the earth a mere copy of the one in heaven? The following verses may answer that question for you. What do you learn from Hebrews 8:4-5 and Hebrews 9:24?
The ark of the covenant that we had on earth was a pattern of the one in heaven. That ark was located in the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place. The presence of God resided above the mercy seat. The ark and the mercy seat are always listed as 2 separate items in Scripture.
61. Why do you think the mercy seat is not mentioned in Rev. 11:19?
62. Where does Exodus 26:34 say that the mercy seat should be placed?
63. What does Psalm 99:1 say about where God sits?
The Hebrew word from which we get our rendering of mercy seat means “the removal of wrath by the offering of a gift”. It was on the mercy seat that blood would be placed once a year on the Day of Atonement to roll back the sins of the people until Jesus came and shed His own blood. The mercy seat is where God resides. Therefore, the seat of mercy is the throne of God. (If you want to read more about this, Ezekiel 10 describes God’s throne.)
Revelation 11 ends with a boom! (Literally!) God is raining down terror and judgment upon the people of the earth who rejected Him. Just this week, some in our family were discussing a beloved relative who does not know God. It is tormenting to us. And in all the years of this individual’s life, it appears that nothing any of us have said has made a difference in her belief system. I told one of my relatives that my prayer for her is going to be patterned after the incident with the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul wasn’t looking for Jesus. In fact, not only did he deny the deity of Christ, he persecuted those who followed Him. God tackled him and basically made him say “uncle”. That is what I’m praying for my loved one. I want the Lord to tackle her into submission. None of us want anyone we love to go through what we just read about in this chapter and the previous ones.
God has given you dear friends the details of the end of time. We are close to being there. Stay close to Him in these days. Read about Him in His Word. And pray for those who do not know Him as their personal Savior.
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