Revelation 10-11

Combined notes from Bible studies with Dr. Chuck Missler and Hal Lindsay
http://www.god.tv/node/3038

Revelation 10-14 are parenthetical chapters that precedes the announcement of the 7th Trumpet. The 7th Trumpet, once sounded, will usher in the Bowls of Wrath.

Revelation 10
- The Little Book
- The Seven Thunders


Revelation 11
- The Temple
- The Two Witnesses


THE LITTLE BOOK
- Presented by a Mighty Angel
- The Book is now unsealed and digested by John
- The Book was written “within and on the backside”
- John, after digesting the Book, was told, “Thou must prophesy again…”
- The Seven Thunders utter their voices. John was about to write down what they said but was told not to.


THE MIGHTY ANGEL (Revelation 10:1-3)
- The is the 3rd appearance of a distinctive messenger: 1) A messenger is holding back judgments for a special work of grace (Revelation 7:2); 2) a messenger of the covenant is pouring fire of judgment (Revelation 8:5); 3) A messenger that is described to be a prophet, priest, and king (Revelation 10:1)
- Some believe this Mighty Angel, based on its description could be Christ: Clouds (Exodus 16:10; 19:9; 24:15; 34:5; Psalm 104:3; Matthew 17; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:9; Revelation 1:7); Rainbow (Psalm 89:1; Revelation 4:3); Sun (Revelation 1:16; Matthew 17); Feet (Revelation 1:15); Lion (Job 4:9-10; Isaiah 31:4-5; Hosea 5:14; 11:10; Amos 3:8; Revelation 5:5); Jesus does appear in the Old Testament times as “the Angel of the Lord” (Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:4; 6:11-12, 21-22; 2 Samuel 24:16)
- Some speculate this Mighty Angel could be a powerful key angel: Gabriel, whose name means, “strength of God”; Michael, whose name means, “one who’s like God”
- Revelation 10:6 shows that this Mighty Angel swears by Christ, suggesting the angel may not be Christ. HOWEVER, God has put Himself under oath before: 1) God made His covenant with Abraham (Hebrews 6:13-20); 2) God declared His Son to be the High Priest (Hebrews 7:20-22); God promised David that the Christ would come from his line (Acts 2:29-30)
- Whether or not the Mighty Angel is Jesus, we can conclude that at the very least, he will be sent on Christ's behalf.

“There will be no more delay” (Revelation 10:6)
The time for repentance is now past. This is also in response to the plea of martyrs heard in the 5th Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:9-11).

“The Mystery of God will be accomplished” (Revelation 10:7)
There are many mysteries revealed by the Word of God.
- Mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:11)
- Mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 4:11)
- Mystery of Israel’s blindness (Romans 11:25)
- Mystery of the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51)
- Mystery of His Will (Ephesians 1:9)
- Mystery of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32)
- Mystery of the Gospel (Ephesians 3:4; Colossians 1:26-27; 4:3)
- Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7)
- Mystery of God and Christ (Colossians 2:2)
- Mystery of the Faith (1 Timothy 3:9)
- Mystery of Godliness (1 Timothy 3:16)
- Mystery of the Seven Stars and the Golden Lampstands (Revelation 1:20)
- Mystery of Babylon the Great (Revelation 17:5)
- Mystery of the Harlot (Revelation 17:7)


“It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey” (Revelation 10:9)
God’s Word is often compared to food, suggesting digesting it (aka, assimilating the information) is essential.

- Bread (Matthew 4:4)
- Milk (1 Peter 2:2)
- Meat (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
- Honey (Psalm 119:103)


THE TWO WITNESSES (Revelation 11)
- In Greek, the Two Witnesses is emphasized as, “THE Two Witnesses of Mine,” suggesting God
has spoken of them before, that they are not foreign to us
- The Two Witnesses will be empowered for 1260 days (Revelation 11:2-18).
- The Two Witnesses will call down fire from Heaven, shut Heaven to give no rain, turn water
into blood, and smite earth with plagues.
- AFTER their ministry is complete, the Beast from the Abousso kills them. The Earth-dwellers
celebrate.
- The Two Witnesses will be resurrected after 3 ½ days
“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth” (Revelation 11:4)
- Zerubbabel and Joshua re-established Israel; the imagery is illustrating that these men received continuous filling by the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:10-14)

Who are the two witnesses? 
- When John the Baptist created a stir (John 1:20-21), people expected him to be one of the 3 people: Messiah (Malachi 3:1-6), Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6), or Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) 
- John the Baptist replied, “I am not” (John 1:19-20; Matthew 11:14; 17:10-11) 
- John the Baptist was not Elijah. He did not “turn the hearts of the children,” as Malachi predicted; he could not usher in the “great and dreadful day,” etc. 
- There are 2 ministries of the Old Testament that are unfinished: 1) Moses’ (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 3:26-28); 2) Elijah’s (1 Kings 17:1; 19:13-16; 2 Kings 2:11). Could these two be called back to finish their ministries as the Two Witnesses? Could they have been called to a “staff meeting” with Jesus, aka, at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17)? Mount of Transfiguration has been connected with the Second Coming (Luke 9:31; 1 Peter 1:10-12; 2 Peter 1:6-18)
- Could it be John the Apostle, based on Revelation 10:11? 
- Could it be John the Baptist (though he himself declared he was not)?

Why Elijah? 
1) Because of unique powers exhibited by him: Fire from Heaven (1 Kings 18:37; 2 Kings 1:10-12; Jeremiah 5:14); Shut Heaven for 3 ½ years (1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17-18) 
2) Prophecy: Malachi 4:5 said that John came into the spirit of Elijah; Elijah still needs to come physically 3) Mysterious death: He never died but was translated, suggesting that suggest God still had plans for him 4) Precedence: Elijah has already visited Earth during Jesus' transfiguration

Why Moses? 
1) Because of unique powers exhibited by him: Turned water into blood (Exodus 7:19-20); brought about plagues (Exodus 8-12)  
2) Deuteronomy 18:18 
3) Mysterious death: Michael and Satan disputed over his body (Jude) 
4) Precedence: Moses has already visited Earth during Jesus' transfiguration


Could it be Enoch? 
Some say yes, because Enoch and Elijah are the two that have not died. (Enoch also walked with God and was no more.) However, the Two Witnesses are supposed to be Jewish, and Enoch is not. Could Enoch instead be just a model of the Rapture (He was removed just before the flood; furthermore, he was translated on his birthday, on the Feast of Shavout/Pentecost, a hint of when Jesus would return)?

There are always two witnesses 
- At the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3) 
- At the Resurrection (Luke 24:4-7) 
- At the Ascension (Acts 1:9-11)


The Jewish Temple of Jerusalem will be where the Two Witnesses host their activities
Before this prophecy can be fulfilled, the Temple obviously must be rebuilt. However, the Dome of the Rock is standing there right now. Some think it is sitting in the "outer court," therefore it won't clash with the building of the Temple. At any rate, it is highly possible that the Antichrist will strike a deal to make the possibility having the Temple and the Dome around the same place.


“Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them” (Revelation 11:7) 
The Two Witnesses will be invulnerable UNTIL they are done with their ministry. The Church, aka, us, are also invulnerable UNTIL we are done with our ministry. As long as God still has a mission for us to accomplish, we will be protected!


“Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8) 
Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem, so here, John is not talking about the geographical nations of Sodom and Egypt. Instead, he is using Sodom and Egypt to symbolize Jerusalem. Sodom represents immorality (Isaiah 1:9-10; 3:8-9; Jeremiah 23:14; Deuteronomy 32:30-33); Egypt represents idolatry (Ezekiel 23:3-19).


The Antichrist will kill the two witnesses, and the world will celebrate, a world that prizes worldly things. The only time the world rejoiced during the Tribulation is when the two witnesses are dead. By this period in time, people will be so hard they will no longer see the truth and kill those who bring the truth and elevate the ultimate falsehood! However, God will bring them back to life and command them to return to Heaven in clouds, with their enemies seeing it (Revelation 11:11-12).


It is hard to imagine how people could still reject God after this? But they will. The hearts of these Earth-dwellers have hardened so much, they refuse to turn to God EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THESE ARE GOD'S JUDGMENTS!


What insight can we glean from this? If we have the opportunity to turn to God now, but we put it off thinking we at least have the Tribulation as a "safety net," think again. Things will only get harder, not easier. So, if we have the opportunity now, then NOW is the time to turn to God.

SEVEN GREAT OPENINGS 
- A door opened in Heaven (Revelation 4:1) 
- The seals are opened (Revelation 6:1-8:1) 
- The Abyss opened (Revelation 9:2) 
- Temple of God opened (Revelation 11:19) 
- Tabernacle of testimony opened (Revelation 15:5) 
- Heaven is opened (Revelation 19:11) 
- Books of Judgment opened (Revelation 20:12)

THE TEMPLE OF GOD (in chronological order)
- Tabernacle
- Solomon’s Temple
- Zerubbabel’s Temple
- Herod’s Temple
- Temple that will be rebuilt prior to Jesus’ 2nd return (Revelation 11)
- Millennial Temple (Ezekiel)
- Heaven (no more temples, because we will be in direct presence of God)


LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE
- Some say the Dome of the Rock is currently sitting on where the Temple should be rebuilt. Others say the Dome of the Rock is actually sitting in the outer court, thereby not conflicting with where the Temple should be rebuilt. (Traditional View, Southern Conjecture, Northern Conjecture)
- Regardless of the theories, there are these issues to consider: 1) Agrippa’s view of the Azarah; 2) Roman surveillance of the Azarah; 3) position of the water aqueduct; 4) location of the moat has to be north of the Temple; 5) elevation of Hulda Gates


BACKGROUND HISTORY
70 AD: Fall of Jerusalem
132 AD: Bar Kochba Revolt
135 AD: Romans regain Jerusalem: The Romans completely decimated Jerusalem and built Aelia Capitolina over city ruins. The temple to Jupiter was built over the site of the Jewish Temple. An Equestrian Statue of Hadrian was installed over the Holy of Holies.