Revelation 11:1-14
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
Big Idea: We must persevere as disciples, because the Spirit gives us the power, the resurrection power of Jesus in persecution, and God’s public vindication of us.
I. Power (vv. 1-6)
The first reason we must persevere as disciples is that the Spirit provides all the power we need for every battle against evil in this life. The Spirit’s power is represented by the two olive trees fueling the two lampstands, representing our witness.
Consider: What challenges to witnessing for Christ cause you discouragement? How does the Spirit’s power enable you to continue to witness faithfully?
II. Persecution (vv. 7-10)
“Now when they have finished their testimony” clearly points us forward to that time when the Church has completed the Great Commission (Mt. 24:14). There will be a day when someone preaches the gospel to the last person God has chosen to save. Our text explains that Jesus will not come at that moment; there will be a period of total war against the Church led by the Antichrist.
Consider: We should not be surprised when we face persecution. The Bible tells us to expect it.
III. Public Vindication (vv. 11-14)
At the conclusion of this relatively brief horrific end to history, God will ruin the party for the wicked by raising the martyrs to life. Wishing for the annihilation of all memory of Christianity, the “beast” will refuse to bury the corpses of the Christians lying in the public square. But what he intends as an act of ignominy, God will transform into a declaration of victory. In the spot where they lie, God will raise them to life.
Consider: How does God’s public vindication and resurrecting power enable Christians to persevere in the face of persecution?