Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 1-2 Part 2

So what are the seven heads? The angel in Chapter 17 tells us they are two things — they are seven mountains, and they are seven kings.

The identification of the seven mountains would have been immediately clear to a first century reader. Swete: “No reasonable doubt can be entertained as to the meaning of these words.”

Gentry: “Perhaps no point is more obvious in Revelation that this one: Rome is the one city in history that has been distinguished for and universally recognizable by its seven hills. ... Suetonius and Plutarch record for us that in the time of Domitian the festival of Septimontium (“the feast of the seven hilled city”) was held annually in December to celebrate the seven hills enclosing Rome. ... This point is well nigh indisputably certain. Indeed, ‘there is scarce a poet that speaks of Rome but observes it.’”

Mounce: “There is litte doubt that a first-century reader would understand this reference in any way other than as a reference to Rome, the city built upon seven hills.”

Coins minted at the time this book was written depicted the goddess Roma sitting upon the seven hills that surrounded the city of Rome. When this book shows us a bloodthirsty harlot sitting upon seven mountains it is flashing a giant neon sign that reads “Rome! Rome! Rome!” If anyone ever tells you it means something else, they need to explain to you how a first century reader with that coin in his pocket would have understood this image to mean anything other than Rome.

But we are told something else about the seven heads — they also represent seven kings: five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while. It is this verse that tells us when this book was written — it was written during the reign of the king who “is.”

Who are the seven kings? Before we answer that question we should pause and ask whether we should take this “7” literally or figuratively. Our general rule in interpreting apocalyptic language is to take numbers (and other symbols) figuratively unless we are forced for some reason to do otherwise, such as for instance when an angel makes an appearance to tell us that 7 means 7. Rome was surrounded by 7 literal mountains, and the angel in Revelation 17 told us that the 7 heads represented 7 mountains. The same angel also told us that the 7 heads mean 7 kings, which the parallelism might suggest are 7 literal kings — but I think we will also see that even there 7 has a symbolic aspect and that, for symbolic reason, 3 of the kings will be ignored in the counting so that 10 literal kings become 7 literal kings and 7 symbolic kings. Thus, just because we see a few literal 7’s does not mean that 7 has no symbolic significance in those cases — in fact, one could argue that the symbolic significance is increased when the symbolic 7 lines up with a literal 7.

So, who are these seven kings? Once again, before we answer that question, we need to travel back in time from the king who “is” about 600 years and read what Daniel had to same about him and his fellow kings. Daniel 7 is inextricably linked to Revelation 13 and Revelation 17.

First, consider Daniel 7:7-8 —

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

And then consider Daniel 7:19-25 —

Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrible, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze; and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; 20 and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, the horn which had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and which seemed greater than its fellows. 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints received the kingdom. 23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. 25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, two times, and half a time.

The link between Daniel and Revelation is unmistakable and indisputable, although what the linked symbols mean is another story.

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Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 1-2

1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

Who stood on the sand of the sea? That’s a good question. Some say it is the dragon, but verse 17 just told us the dragon went off to make war. Some say it is John, but verse 1 refers to John in the first person, unlike the third person reference in verse 17. I think it most likely refers to the dragon.

In verse 1, John sees a beast rise out of the sea. We have seen the sea used before to depict separation, and we have seen the sea used to depict the restless, unsettled nations of the world. That latter symbol seems to be the one God is using here. Recall the similar imagery in Isaiah 17:12-13—

Ah, the thunder of many peoples, they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations, they roar like the roaring of mighty waters! The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.

And that symbol fits perfectly. This beast represents Rome, and Rome rose from the restless, unsettled nations of the world.

But there may be additional reasons behind the use of the sea here. In Isaiah 60:5, the prophet compares “the abundance of the sea” with “the wealth of the nations.” In Jeremiah 51:13, the prophet says the following about Babylon: “O you who dwell by many waters, rich in treasures, your end has come.” And later in verse 42 of that same chapter, he writes, “The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves.” And in Ezekiel 26:3, God says the following about Tyre, “Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.” Thus, not only does the sea denote wicked and restless nations, it also denotes judgment.

This beast has seven heads with ten horns and ten diadems. This is the same description we were given of the dragon in 12:3. When we last saw the dragon we were told that it had gone off to make war against those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. What we see here is one of the weapons that Satan was going to use in that conflict.

This beast is both a weapon of Satan and a manifestation of Satan. Satan was the driving power behind the attack by Rome against the church. That the beast is now wearing Satan’s royal headdress tells us that the dragon has given power and authority to the beast to act on his behalf.

What is represented by the seven heads? When we first saw them in 12:3, I mentioned that we would see them again here in Chapter 13, and that their meaning would be explained to us by an angel in Chapter 17. Rather than wait until we get to Chapter 17, I think it is helpful to jump over there now and discover what these symbols mean.

Chapter 17, beginning in verse 7, contains a short commentary in which an angel explains to John the meaning of some of things that he has seen. The angel, in effect, steps outside of the vision in order to comment upon an explain what John is seeing.

Chapter 17 will begin by showing us a woman sitting on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns — the same symbol we saw in Chapter 12 and the same symbol we see here in Chapter 13. Whatever this symbol means, it s repeated appearance indicates it must be important. As another indication of its importance, an angel in 17:9-10 tells us what it means:

This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.

Those two verses are crucial in understanding this book. That is why we have jumped ahead a few chapters to discuss them now. In addition, to telling us what the seven heads represent, these verses also tell us when the book of Revelation was written.

Our comments on these two verses will continue for the next several blog postings...

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 13-17

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

The dragon sees that he has been thrown down to earth, and so he pursues the mother of the child. That is, Satan realizes that his plans to defeat Jesus have backfired, and so he begins to attack Jesus’s followers. If he can’t reach the Lord’s body in Heaven, he will attack the Lord’s body on earth. (Although this woman represents the faithful people of God, be they faithful Jewish people under the Old Covenant before Christ came or faithful Christians under the New Covenant after Christ came, at this time the focus is on the latter because here we see the woman after the ascension. Thus, at this point on the timeline, we can refer to the woman as the church.)

Remember, persecution does not mean that God is no longer in control. God was in control at the cross, and God was in control while Rome persecuted the church. God is in control no matter what! (Of course this does not mean that everything that happens is the will of God. Sin is clearly not the will of God. See our lesson on Time and Chance at www.ThyWordIsTruth.com.)

The woman is given wings with which to escape the pursuing dragon. That is, the woman is protected and preserved by God. Wings are often used to symbolize God’s protection:

Exodus 19:4 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Deuteronomy 32:11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone did lead them.

Psalm 36:7 How precious is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings.

Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

What happens next? The dragon attempts to kill the woman with a flood, but the earth swallows the water. As with so many of the images in this book, this one takes us back to the Exodus. As the people of God escaped the great dragon of Egypt, God held back the water to allow his people to escape when Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea on dry ground. (See Exodus 14:21–31 and Psalm 106:9.)

Elsewhere, the Bible also portrays floods that are threatening to engulf God’s people, sometimes as a judgment by God. Recall —

Isaiah 8:7-8 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Psalm 144:7 Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters.

Psalm 32:6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

What sort of flood had Satan unleashed on them? It was a flood of delusion and deception. It was a flood of false religion. It was a flood of idolatry. It was a flood of false charges. It was a flood of false philosophies. It was a flood of immorality. It was a flood of compromise. It was a flood of perversion.

Satan may not have had much luck with that flood, but that did not keep him from trying it again. We are being threatened by a flood today that in some ways is worse than the one they faced. While we are not facing the same threat of physical persecution, we are living in a world that is awash in deception, false religions, and immorality. The waters from that flood threaten to swallow us up, and that flood was released by Satan.

What does it mean that the earth swallowed up the flood waters? Isn’t the earth in the enemy’s camp? First, we should note that the concept of water being absorbed by the sands of an arid wilderness would have been familiar to John’s initial readers. The rivers flowing eastward from the Lebanon mountains disappear in the sands of the eastern desert. We recall that Job accused his friends in Job 6:15-20 of being like a deceitful brook that vanishes away — “when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.”

But is that all that is involved here, or is there a symbolic meaning behind this flood being swallowed up by the earth? Is there some sense in which the earth came to the rescue of the woman? Hailey says yes:

In the same way the earth, that is, the unregenerated earthlings, helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing up the lies of the dragon. In doing this the earth established a clear distinction between the world, satiated with its false religions and philosophical teachings, on the one hand, and the church, clothed with truth and righteousness, on the other. From the viewpoint of Satan and the world, the earth’s help was incidental and unintentional: but from the viewpoint of the church, it was providential. As long as the world absorbs the river of Satan’s lies, and the church drinks from the fountain of divine truth, the separation between the two will remain clear and distinct. But when the woman begins to compromise with Satan and his lies, becoming submerged in his river of falsehood, tragedy follows.

One reason that Rome fell was that Rome turned on itself. We will see that very thing later in this book, and Daniel told us about it 600 years before Revelation was written.

Remember the sequence of events here. We started off with the dragon on earth trying to devour the child. We then moved to Heaven, where Satan was defeated and cast out. We now see Satan back on earth again and being defeated again. What is the message here? God can defeat Satan anywhere he happens to be. He can defeat Satan in Heaven, and he can defeat Satan on earth, which Satan claims as his own turf.

What happens next? The dragon wages war against the offspring of the woman. The woman herself and her child are now beyond the reach of the dragon. That is, Jesus and the faithful people of God (as a whole and pictured as already dwelling in Heaven) are unstoppable and cannot be defeated by Satan.

However, Satan still wages war against individual Christians; that is, against the other offspring of the woman. In my opinion, these other offspring are those Christians who are still physically present on earth. This, in my opinion, is the same division between the inner sanctuary and the outer court that we see in 11:1-2.

The promise given in Revelation that Satan will not be able to defeat the church is not new or unique to this book. Recall Jesus’s statement in Matthew 16:18 — “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” And recall Hebrews 2:14 — “That through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Chapter 12 ends by saying that “the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.” Chapter 13 will provide the details of that attack.

Chapter 13 will introduce us to two of the weapons that Satan would use next in his battle against the church — a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth. As we will see, these beasts represent Rome, but they do so from different perspectives. Just as we see the church from many different perspectives in this book, so do we see Rome from many perspectives. Chapter 13 will prove to be the key to understanding the remainder of the book, and so we will spend some extra time in this chapter.

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verse 12

12 Rejoice then, O heaven and you that dwell therein! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Those who dwell in Heaven are told to rejoice. Remember that God’s people, even those still physically on earth, are pictured in Revelation as dwelling in Heaven. The phrase “those who dwell upon the earth” always refers to the enemies of God in this book.

Why are they told to rejoice? Because their victory is assured. The Lamb has conquered Satan through his death and the power of his word. Satan could not defeat Jesus while he was on earth, and Satan certainly won’t be able to do any better now that Jesus has ascended back to Heaven. The power behind Rome was utterly and completely defeated at the cross. Rome will be the next to go.

We have seen the wrath of the Lamb. In verse 12, we see the wrath of the dragon. The difference, of course, is that the dragon’s wrath is not a righteous wrath. In fact, Satan’s wrath is directed here not toward those dwelling in Heaven but to his own followers who dwell on the earth. Satan has no concern for their welfare, but will use them as he sees fit in his attempts to thwart God’s plans. But Satan’s schemes are not working, and it certainly can’t be his fault! He blames his minions, which partly explains his wrath.

But the text gives us another reason for his wrath — he knows that his time is short. We see here Satan’s frustration at being unable to destroy the church with such a deadly weapon, and he knows that his opportunity to use Rome as a weapon is coming to an end. That is, Satan knows that his opportunity to attack the church through Rome will not last forever.

Just as Satan grasped his opportunity and attempted to kill Jesus in his infancy, Satan also saw an opportunity and attempted to crush the church in its infancy. In each case, Satan failed and was utterly defeated.  

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 10-11

10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.” We have seen language like this before. In 11:5, for example, we were told, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”   

As before, the statement in verse 10 does not mark the beginning of God’s kingdom or of Christ’s authority. Instead it depicts a public vindication and reaffirmation of those things. (Although, we should note that the Lord’s eternal kingdom was literally established shortly after the ascension of Christ.)

In verse 10, we are told why “the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come.” It is because “the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” The defeat of Satan is the cause for this public vindication and reaffirmation of God’s sovereignty.

Verse 10 tells us something very interesting about Satan — he accuses us day and night before God! This description of Satan reminds us at once of the opening chapters of Job, although there you will recall it was God who first brought up Job as an example to Satan — “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” Perhaps Satan had been accusing others before God used Job as an example of righteousness.

Remember when as a child you had a brother or sister who would always rush off to your parents to accuse you? That is Satan’s full time job! Whenever you sin, you should picture Satan rushing off to God to tell him what you just did! And Satan is the father of lies, and so there is no telling what lies he is telling God about us. But we should not be worried — our God is an all-knowing, righteous judge. And we have another before him who is pleading our case.

And the next time we are tempted to start accusing each other, we should remember this description of Satan as the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them day and night before our God. That is not good company to keep!

Verse 11 tells us how Satan was conquered. “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Verse 11 is one of the key verses in this entire book.

Satan was figuratively defeated by a great battle in Heaven. Satan was literally defeated by the blood of Christ, by the word of Christ, and by the faithful proclamation of that word by those who loved not their lives even unto death.

We are reminded of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous reminder that “when Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die.” And we are reminded of Matthew 16:24 — “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” And of John 12:25 — “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Verse 11 is a reminder that this book of comfort and assurance is not promising a physical deliverance from the clutches of Rome. God is promising a spiritual deliverance from the power behind Rome.

Satan was defeated by the death of those he was trying to kill? That doesn’t sound like much of a defeat! Yes, but things are not always what they seem! (How many times will we see that theme in this book?!) Satan was defeated by the death of Christ on that cross, and he is defeated when Christ’s servants follow the example of their Master. The death of Jesus was a defeat—but not for Jesus. The death of Jesus was a judgment—but not against Jesus.

Satan was defeated by the blood of the Lamb. It was that blood that provided the forgiveness of sins that took the faithful forever out of his clutches. It was that blood that made Satan’s accusations of no effect.

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 7-9

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Is this a literal war in Heaven? Two questions — How could it be, and why should it be? Satan was defeated at the cross! Recall John 12:31— “Now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.” Jesus did not need Michael to do something he had already accomplished himself. This battle (like the woman, the child, and the dragon) is symbolic!

Why show us this symbolic battle? This battle and its outcome emphasize the point that if Satan could not defeat Jesus while he was on the earth, then Satan certainly cannot defeat Jesus now that Jesus is reigning in Heaven!

Is this scene a flashback? Are we seeing here a description of Satan’s actual fall some time prior to the events in Genesis 3? No. The timing here places the battle at the time of the ascension of Christ. This defeat is the defeat of Satan that Christ accomplished on the cross and at the resurrection and ascension. Was a great war like this really being fought on the cross? Absolutely! And Jesus won!

The Bible describes the victory of Christ as the outcome of a great conflict. Recall Isaiah 53:12 —

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

And remember how Jesus described the conflict in Luke 11:20-22 —

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

And also recall Jesus’ statement in John 14:30 — “for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” The outcome of that battle was never in doubt.

We also have our great battles with Satan, and they often would not look like much of a battle to an outside observer. But — and here is the theme of this book — things are not always what they seem!

The angel Michael serves here as Christ’s representative. He is named three times in the book of Daniel. He is “one of the chief princes” in Daniel 10:13. He is the “prince of Israel” in Daniel 10:21. And, in Daniel 12:1, Michael is called “the great prince” who stood for God’s people against their great enemies. He is called an archangel in Jude 9. Some surmise that he is the angel pictured in Revelation 10.

No place is found in Heaven for the dragon and his angels. His assault on Heaven is a complete failure. His defeat is decisive. When Jesus ascended he had completely defeated Satan. Recall —

1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

John 16:11 The ruler of this world is judged.

John 16:33 I have overcome the world.

John 12:31 Now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.

Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Hebrews 2:14 That through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Verse 9 refers to the dragon as that ancient serpent. This reference is a clear identification of the dragon with the serpent in Genesis 3. It was through this serpent’s deceptions that sin entered the world, and he has been an active enemy of God and man ever since. He is the devil or diabolos, which means accuser or slanderer. And he is Satan or satanas, which means adversary or opponent.

Verse 9 also describes Satan as the deceiver of the whole world. Paul told us in 1 Timothy 2:14 that it was by deception that the world was plunged into sin. In John 8:44, Jesus said of Satan, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” In fact, the first recorded words of Satan in the Bible contained a lie —

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.

God gave Eve a command, and Satan convinced her to do the very opposite. God told Eve a fact, and Satan convinced Eve that the opposite was true. Satan’s method of operation has not changed one bit! Why should he change, when what he does works so well? God tells us that those who believe and are baptized shall be saved. And what does Satan say? He says that those who believe and are saved shall be baptized. A small twist — but a deadly one! Satan is still twisting God’s word and telling people, “Ye shall not surely die!”

Satan is a deceiver! He delights in twisting the word of God. He quoted the Bible and twisted the scriptures even to Jesus in Matthew 4 — he does the same thing today. How else could a rational person read the word of God and conclude that it approves of homosexuality? How else could a rational person read the word of God and conclude that baptism is not essential to salvation? Someone sent me an email recently arguing that baptism is not even part of the gospel! How can we explain such blindness? They have been blinded and deceived by Satan just as surely as Satan deceived Eve in the garden. Satan’s methods of operations have not changed, and nor are they likely to change while they continue to work so well. We must not be ignorant of his devices! (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Here is the message of these verses in a nutshell: The power behind Rome has already been defeated. The defeat of Rome will soon follow.

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 5-6

5 she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

We find in these verses more evidence that this child is Jesus. Verse 5 says that the child was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Recall Psalm 2:9 — “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Also, recall Revelation 2:26–27 — “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.”

Later in 19:15, we will read, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Before the dragon can devour him, the child is caught up to God and to his throne. Here we see the ascension of Christ back to his father’s throne in Heaven. On this earth, he was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. On this earth, he was tempted by Satan, yet without sin. On this earth, he was put to death by lawless hands. But he rose from the dead, he defeated Satan, and he ascended back to Heaven, forever out of Satan’s grasp.

The birth in verse 5 likely involves much more than just the events that occurred in Bethlehem. The child that is born in verse 5 is the same child that is caught up to God in verse 5. Thus, this “birth” appears to cover the entire earthly ministry of Christ, from his physical birth in Bethlehem to his ascension in Acts 1.

Satan failed to defeat Jesus when he was most vulnerable, while he was made in the likeness of men, and while he was found in fashion as a man. (Philippians 2:7-8) Satan certainly won’t fair any better after Jesus has ascended to rule from Heaven!

Before we read any further, we know what the message is going to be! Just as these Christians had followed the example of Christ in their suffering, they would follow his example in ascending to Heaven. They, too, would escape the clutches of this great dragon.

What happens next? Verse 6 tells us that the woman flees into the wilderness. We are reminded of Moses fleeing from Pharaoh into the wilderness. We are reminded of the Israelites fleeing from Egypt into the wilderness. We are reminded of Elijah fleeing from Ahab and Jezebel into the wilderness. We are reminded of Mary and Joseph fleeing from Herod into the wilderness.

How long does this last? Verse 6 tells us that the woman is separated from the child for 1260 days, which is 42 months, which is 3½ years. This book is so beautiful when we understand the symbols! Those who take these numbers literally are missing so much!

The church is separated from Christ for 3½ years! That is, the separation is neither permanent nor complete. Just as the persecution is temporary, so is the separation between the Lord and his church.

Although the woman flees to the wilderness, God nourishes and sustains her there. God is assuring his people that although they are being persecuted by Rome and although Jesus is no longer with them in person, that situation will not last forever. But while it does last, God will sustain them and protect them and nourish them.

We are reminded once again of Ezekiel 29:3, which refers to Egypt as a great dragon — “Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.” God’s people in the Old Testament were also nourished in the wilderness while running from a great dragon.

For those keeping count, this is the third time and the third different way that this message has been delivered to the readers of this book! First, the city of God will be trampled under foot for 3½ years, but the inner sanctuary will be protected. Second, two witnesses will prophecy for 3½ years, but then be killed by the beast. Their apparent defeat, however, is only temporary. After 3½ days they come back to life and ascend to Heaven. Third, a woman will be forced to flee into the wilderness for 3½ years, yet will find there a place of nourishment and protection.

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 3-4

3 And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;

J. R. R. Tolkien once said, “It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” That’s good advice for us, for here we meet a powerful, blood thirsty dragon who appears before the woman waiting to devour her child.

Where have we seen this same cast assembled before? For that we must turn from the last book of the Bible all the way back to the first. In Genesis 3:15, God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This battle has been going on for a long time — and guess what! It’s head bruising time!

This dragon is Satan, but it also depicts Rome. This dragon is Satan acting through the most powerful weapon in his arsenal, the mighty Roman empire and its godless emperors. It is Satan who John 8:44 tells us was a murderer from the beginning. It is Satan who is ever working for the death of God’s people.

How do we know that Rome is involved here? We know that from the dragon’s description — seven heads with diadems and ten horns. Why seven? Why ten? Why horns? Stay tuned. The details regarding these symbols will be given when they appear again in Chapter 13 and when they are explained by an angel in Chapter 17, and we will see that they represent Rome.

Even here, however, we have enough clues to get a glimpse of what we will discover in those later chapters. The word “diadem” in verse 3 occurs three times in Revelation, but nowhere else in the New Testament. It is different from the crown of victory (stephanos) that we have discussed before. The diadem originated with the Persians and is a headdress of royalty. It always denotes royal power or royal rule. Which royal rule is in view here? Well, who was reigning at this time on earth? What royalty was Satan using to attack the church? Satan is arrayed with the emperors of Rome! It was through their reign that Satan sought to destroy the church. This connection will be confirmed for us in Chapter 17.

What are the stars of Heaven in verse 4? They likely represent God’s people. They certainly remind us of God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:5 — “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” And they remind us of Philippians 2:15 — “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

But the dragon causes some of these stars fall to earth. Their fall to earth most likely indicates that the dragon caused them to fall away from God. That is, they become part of “those who dwell upon the earth.” The word translated “cast” in verse 4 means to drag away or to pull away. It was through Roman persecution and emperor worship that Satan caused some Christians to compromise with the world and be lost. Satan’s success did not occur when a faithful Christian died physically, but rather when a faithful Christian was pulled away and died spiritually. And he did that to some, but not to all. Just as we say thirds in the descriptions of God’s earlier partial judgment, so we see a third here to describe Satan’s partial success in causing Christians to fall away.

There is a lesson here for us. This dragon should not be underestimated. Yes, Satan has been defeated. Yes, Satan is acting out the role in this book that God has given him. But, Satan is real, and Satan is dangerous. He causes people to fall away from God, and when that happens it is as if a star has fallen from Heaven — whether it be because of Roman persecution or just because you have other things you would rather be doing on Sunday.

A challenge of this book is that we begin to see things as God sees them, and I fear we do not always see a Christian’s fall from grace in the same cataclysmic terms in which Heaven views that departure. It looks like such a non-event from our perspective — the person is here, and then sometimes here, and then never here. We may ask about them, we may even call him, but then very often that is the end of it. Perhaps we need to picture that person as a shining star cast back down to earth by the tail of a great red dragon. That’s how God sees it.

The handout this week shows two coins depicting the Roman emperor Domitian. No one doubts that Nero persecuted Christians, but there are some who doubt that Domitian ever did. We will consider that issue at length later, and I believe we will determine that the evidence more strongly supports the view that Domitian was a great persecutor of the church — although admittedly the extra-Biblical evidence is not as strong for Domitian as it is for Nero.

The handout shows some circumstantial evidence for Domitian’s persecution of the church. On one coin, Domitian is referred to as Divi Filius — son of the divine, or son of god. On the other, his own infant son (who died very young) is referred to as “The Divine Caesar, Son of the Emperor Domitian.” The child sits on the globe and stretches his hands out toward seven stars. A divine child who holds seven stars in his hand — where have we seen that before? Speaking of Christ, Revelation 1:16 says, “and he had in his right hand seven stars.” These similarities are unmistakable. Domitian must have seen in Christianity a threat to his own claims of divinity for himself and for his own son. Remember what Paul say about him in 2 Thessalonians 2:4—“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, shewing himself that he is God.” Read that and look at those coins!

In Chapter 12 a giant dragon waits to swallow up the son of God. We know very little about Domitian’s son except that he died in infancy. It makes you wonder who swallowed up whom! Perhaps Domitian experienced the last of those Egyptian plagues literally. We will have much more to say about Domitian as our study continues.

In verse 12:4 we are told that the great red dragon stood before the woman, waiting to devour her child when it was born. To an outside observer it must look like this child has no chance. How could anyone, much less a newborn baby, prevail against this great dragon? The great dragon likely had the same view — how could it be defeated by a mere baby? It will just swallow it up, and that will be the end of the matter. Right? Wrong! Things are not what they seem!

Satan had once attempted to swallow up this child literally through Herod the Great, which was really through Rome even then since it was by Rome’s authority that Herod ruled. Now Satan was once again trying to do the same thing to the body of Christ, his church, and once again through Rome. Satan knew that he would never have a better opportunity than this — attack the church in its infancy with the mighty Roman empire, the greatest weapon he ever had. Satan had been waiting to devour this child since Genesis 3.

This devouring of God’s people reminds us yet again of Old Testament imagery. In Jeremiah 51:34 Babylon swallows God’s people “like a monster.” Egypt, which also tried to devour a servant of God as a child (Moses) and which also persecuted God’s people, is called a great dragon in Ezekiel 29:3. At the time of this book, the weapon has changed from Babylon and Egypt to Rome, but the one wielding that weapon is the same serpent we met in Genesis 3.

Revelation is often viewed as a book that looks forward — but it might better be described as a book that looks backward as it repeatedly describes Rome in the light of past events.

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Revelation Chapter 12 Verses 1-2

1 And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.

Chapter 12 begins with a great portent or great sign. In the gospels. John uses this Greek word for “sign” where the other three gospel writers use the Greek word normally translated “miracle.” The Greek word for “sign” occurs seven times in Revelation — three times in reference to God and four times in reference to the deceptions of Satan. This sign, of course, is from God, and the first thing we see is “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Who is this woman? Let’s look at the clues. First, she wears the sun and the moon, which Genesis 1:17 reminds us were designed to give light to the world. Second, she wears a crown of twelve stars, where we recall that 12 is the number that depicts God’s people (12 patriarchs, 12 tribes, 12 apostles).   

So she gives light to the world, she wears a crown, and that crown has 12 stars. She must be yet another symbol for the church, right? Wrong! (And just when you thought things were getting predictable!)

It’s not entirely wrong, but this woman represents more than just the church in its general New Testament sense. How do we know? Because she is shown to have existed before the birth of Christ and before the establishment of his kingdom in Acts 2.

So who is she? Some say she is the church, while others argue she is the virgin Mary. In my opinion, she represents all of God’s people throughout time. She is the faithful remnant. She represents those who keep God’s covenant. We see similar images in the Old Testament. Recall Isaiah 54:5-7 —

For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

And also Isaiah 66:7 —

Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

And also recall Micah 4:10 —

Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.

It is in the very next chapter, Micah 5:2, that we read:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Some commentators see the reference to the sun, the moon, and the stars in the description of the woman as further evidence that she embodies the faithful remnant throughout time. The stars, they tell, us depict the Patriarchal age, in which the mystery was still very much hidden. The moon depicts the Mosaic age, in which the prophets proclaimed the mystery, and yet it was still only dimly understood. Finally, the sun represents the Christian age in which the mystery was fulfilled and revealed.

I said a moment ago that this woman is not the church in its general New Testament sense. What does that mean? When we think of the church we rightly think of the body of Christ to which each of us was added at our baptism. But what about the faithful people of God who died before the establishment of the church? After the great roll call of faith in Hebrews 11, that chapter ends with verses 39-40:

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

The faithful remnant under the old covenant were not made perfect without us, but rather we were all made perfect together by the blood of Christ. Also, read Hebrews 9:13-15 —

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Thus, if we understand the church to be the collective spiritual body of God’s people, including that faithful remnant who died prior to Acts 2 but who received the promise in Christ, then this woman represents the church after all.

Who is the child? No one who has read this far in the Bible could have any doubt as to the identity of this child! It is, of course, Jesus, who descended through the Jewish line; that is, from those who were God’s people under the old covenant. We will witness the birth of this child in verse 5. The child is Jesus, who from a physical perspective was brought forth from out of God’s people. This child had been in the womb of the faithful remnant since Genesis 3.

Some of the most beautiful and dramatic images in the Bible are found here in Chapter 12. The destiny of this woman depends upon her child; it was her own sin that made his birth necessary.

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verses 16-19

16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to thee, Lord God Almighty, who art and who wast, that thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but thy wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

In verse 17 the 24 elders say to God, “thou hast taken thy great power and begun to reign.” What does that mean? This is the same question that we just considered with regard to Christ in verse 15.

As we often do, let’s start with what it does not mean. It cannot possibly mean that God was not reigning prior to the judgment of Rome because we know that God has always reigned over his creation. If God was not reigning over Rome, then how were they in subjection to him? What right did God have to judge them and punish them if they were not his subjects?

But the world is in such a mess! How can God be reigning when everything seems to be going so wrong? Premillennialists often make that argument to support their warped views about the kingship of Christ. But what does the Bible say? Psalm 29:10 tells us that “the LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, and the LORD sits as King forever.” Was the world in a mess at the Flood? Was God reigning over the world when it was in a mess? Yes and yes. And God is reigning over our world as well. Remember Psalm 47:8 — “God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.”

What then does verse 17 mean when it says that God has “begun to reign”? We know what it means! It means that the events described in this book are a powerful reminder of his reign. They are a new expression of his reign. They depict a public vindication and reaffirmation of his reign. If anyone ever doubted that God was king, look at what he is doing here! He has begun to reign! He is coming in judgment to exercise his royal power against his rebellious subjects.

Hailey: “The kingdom of prophecy was now a definite realization among men, for at the defeat of His enemies God had taken His power and rule over the world.”

Did the kingdom come in Acts 2? Yes. Did the kingdom come with power in Acts 2? Yes. Did the world know it at that time? No. Does the world know it following the events described here? Absolutely! After God judges Rome, there is no doubt about which kingdom is the eternal kingdom!

Verse 18 tells us “the nations raged, but thy wrath came.” We are about to see the bowls of God’s wrath poured out on top of Rome. The time for repentance is over; the time for judgment is here. This verse is modeled after Psalm 2 —

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

And how does God respond to the raging nations? “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.” That reminds me of Isaiah 52:15 — “The kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.” God is in control of the nations of this world, and he takes them out when he sees fit. Remember Psalm 110:5-6 —

The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

It is comforting today in a world filled with raging nations and people who imagine vain things to know that God reigns.

Verse 18 tells us that this is “the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding thy servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear thy name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” Thayer tells us that “to destroy does not mean to extinguish or bring to extinction, but to change for the worse, to corrupt,” as moths corrupt garments in Luke 12:33 or as evil dispositions corrupt minds inn 1 Timothy 6:5.

Now verse 18 has to be the end of the world, right? No, it doesn’t have to be, and, in my opinion, it isn’t. We need to remember the all important time frame, and we need to read verse 18 in it context, right there between verses 17 and 19. And we need to remember how Old Testament judgments were described. When we do, I think we will discover that this language is yet another vivid image of Rome’s judgment. The details of this judgment will be given in Revelation 20, and I will have much more to say on this topic when we get there. But for now, whenever verse 18 happens, the message is clear — Christ’s enemies will be judged and destroyed; Christ’s servants will be rewarded.

Notice that the prophets are among those rewarded in verse 18. They had looked for and foretold the coming King and his eternal kingdom, and now their reward was to see those prophecies fulfilled. Their reward was to witness the unfolding of the mystery.

Why is the ark of the covenant seen in verse 19? The ark of the covenant was located in the Holy of Holies, the inside of which no ordinary person had ever seen and into which the High Priest went only on the Day of Atonement. But that is no longer the situation for a Christian. Recall Hebrews 10:19-22 —

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The ark of the covenant provides reassurance that God remembers his promises. It is always in his presence to remind him of those promises. Whatever the terrors to come, God will not forget his promises.

In a similar way, the thunder, the lightning, the earthquakes, and the hail are Old Testament symbols of judgment intended to remind us that God keeps his promises. He promised to judge and punish the church’s enemies — and he will. He promised to vindicate the church — and he will. God keeps his promises.

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verse 15

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

A great silence followed the opening of the seventh seal in Chapter 8. The sounding of the seventh trumpet is followed by loud voices in heaven.

Most (but not all) commentators think that the seventh seal contained (or unleashed or revealed) the seven trumpets and the seven bowls that followed, and that the seventh trumpet contained the seven bowls of wrath that followed. If so (and this view makes sense to me), then this seventh trumpet marks the end of Rome.

It may be that as the seventh trumpet sounds, the seven bowls containing the full and destructive wrath of God are poured out. That is, although we will hear the details later, it may be that the bowls are poured out when this final trumpet sounds.

Recall, for example, what we were told in 10:7— “but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as he announced to his servants the prophets, should be fulfilled.”

In any event, we know that at this point the judgment is done and the outcome is inevitable. Hence the cry goes out: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

What is meant by the phrase “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord”? The judgment of Rome and the victory of the church depict a public vindication of something that was already true in fact — Jesus is king! This verse does not mark the beginning of Christ’s kingdom or of Christ’s authority over anyone. Instead, it depicts a public reaffirmation of that kingdom and that authority. Recall —

Revelation 1:5 Jesus is [not will be] the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Ephesians 1:21 Jesus sits [not will sit] at God’s right hand, far above every principality and power and every name that is named.

1 Peter 3:22 Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.”

Psalm 29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever.

Daniel 4:17 The Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will, and sets over it the lowliest of men.

The word “kingdom” as used here includes more than the church. (The two terms are not always synonyms. See the lesson on God’s kingdom available at ThyWordIsTruth.com as part of our series of lessons on the Lord’s church.) Here the kingdom includes all of the people and nations of the world. Jesus has all authority. In the widest sense, the universe is his kingdom. Jesus does not just have authority over believers. He is king of everyone and everything. All are subject to the rule of Christ. In Acts 2:36-38, those who heard the first gospel sermon were told to obey Christ — not to make him Lord — but because he was already Lord. We obey Christ because he is our Lord and King — not to make him our Lord and King. It is a subtle distinction, but it is an important distinction.

Verse 15 says that Jesus shall reign forever. Again, note that Jesus is reigning now and was reigning then. Paul tells us about the reign of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 —

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

What do those verses tell us? They tell us that Jesus is reigning now — “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” They tell us that he will reign until his enemies are destroyed, with the last of those enemies being death.

But hasn’t death already been defeated? Yes. We were freed from the bondage of sin and death by the cross. Death has been defeated, and yet it continues. (Rome also continued for quite awhile after being defeated.)

The writer of Hebrews described mankind’s relation with death in Hebrews 2:14-15 —

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

In Romans 5:12, Paul personifies death as a cosmic power that entered the world through Adam and that reigns over everyone.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

And yet when Paul wrote, death had already been defeated. Paul told us in Romans 8:38-39 that not even death could separate us from the love of God —

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The defeat of death occurs at the resurrection of the dead; the two are one and the same. And that is precisely Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 15 — if there is no resurrection of the dead, then death will forever remain unconquered. When Jesus rose from the dead never to die again, death was forever defeated! Death will have been finally destroyed on that great day when we too rise never to die again.

And 1 Corinthians 15 tells us something else about that last great day. Paul tells us that when Jesus comes again, it will not be to establish a kingdom, but rather it will be to offer up to the Father an already established kingdom. And once Christ delivers his kingdom to the Father, God will be all things in all. His reign will be unchallenged. Death will not just have been defeated; death will have been destroyed. No one will doubt the defeat of death on that day!

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verses 11-14

11 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. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up hither!” And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud. 13 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. 14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

There are many wonderful words in the Bible, but “but” has to be one of the most wonderful! And there are few uses of “but” that are more wonderful than the “but” in verse 11 — “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.” Some of the most important verses in the Bible begin with the word “but.”

The “but” in Romans 3:21 is one of the few that rivals the “but” here in verse 11. Another important “but” appears in Psalm 22:3, which offers an interesting parallel to what we see in Chapter 11. The early Christian must have also asked the question in Psalm 22:1 — “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” And they must also have found comfort from the reply in 22:3-4 — “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.” In fact, much of Revelation is a reminder to them of what the Psalmist said in Psalm 22:3-4. God delivered his people before, and he will do so again.

Things look very bleak for the church ... but. It looks like Rome is going win ... but. It looks like Satan may have the last word this time ... but. It looks like the church is finally finished ... but. God will always have the final word!

After 3½ days God raises the church from the dead. The two witnesses start breathing again and get back on their feet. Where is the celebration now? Just one verse ago, the world was making merry and exchanging presents! What are they doing now? Verse 11 tells us they are now in great fear. My, how the situation has changed!

And that’s not all that has changed. Notice how the verb tenses have changed in verse 11. In verses 9-10, we read, “And they ... shall see their dead bodies ... and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them.” But in verse 11, we read, “They stood upon their feet.” So certain is this course of events that John speaks of future events as though they were past events.

The earlier persecution was temporary, as depicted by the symbolic 3½ years. The apparent defeat is even more temporary, as depicted by the symbolic 3½ days.

In the sight of their foes, the two witnesses ascend into Heaven. They are completely vindicated. Few saw Christ ascend into Heaven, but this ascension occurs in full view of God’s enemies. All the world now knows that they are on God’s side and under God’s protection. And God is moving them to safety — which must have caused the greatest fear of all. Why did they need to be moved to safety? Rome was about to find out!

The first thing that happens is a great earthquake, which serves as an omen of a coming judgment on those who rejoiced at the apparent defeat of the church.

A tenth of the city falls and 7000 are killed. Once again only a fraction is affected; that is, even this judgment is not yet final. More is on the way.

Why a tenth and why 7000? The destruction of a tenth is an image of decimation (which literally means to take one in ten). The use of 7000 foreshadows the perfect and complete judgment that is coming and that will not allow for repentance.

What about those who are not killed? Verse 13 tells us they were terrified and gave glory to God. Does this mean that finally someone was led to repent? Did the message finally get through to them? Can the judgment be called off as it was in days of Jonah? No.

This apparent repentance is not a real repentance. Things are not what they seem, and we have seen this before. The great city here is modeled after the city of desolation in Isaiah 24-27. In those chapters, the prophet looked beyond Judah and saw a world of sin, called a waste city or city of desolation. God shook the earth, and that lofty city was brought low. The Bible tells us that out of the destruction there emerged a people who feared God — and they were right to fear God! What we see here is not repentance, but rather rationality!

Those left alive in verse 13 are not Christians. Their motive is not love but rather fear. How do we know their conversion is not genuine? For the simple reason that they remain on this earth. In this book, the faithful are pictured as being in Heaven with God, while the wicked are repeatedly referred to as those who dwell upon the earth. The witnesses ascend into Heaven. Those looking on in astonishment do not. Those called the foes of God in verse 12 remain the foes of God in verse 13 — they are now just astonished foes probably wondering for the first time whether they chose the winning side! They are much like a sports fan who roots for whichever team seems to be winning at the moment. Remember that one day every knee will bow to Christ and every tongue will confess to God. (Romans 14:11)

What did Nebuchadnezzar say after he saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come out of that fiery furnace unhurt? Read Daniel 3:28-29—

Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.”

What was Nebuchadnezzar’s motivation? We see the same motivation and the same response here in verse 13. Those who remain alive now recognize that God is going to win, and they want to be on the winning side. Verse 13 doesn’t tell us that they are Christians — rather what it tells us is that they are not fools!

The people in verse 13 “worship” with the same motivation as that of Nebuchadnezzar. Their fate remains unchanged. We are not told that they repented in any way from their murders, thefts, sorceries, and idolatries. Just a few verses earlier they were exchanging gifts to celebrate the apparent demise of the Lord’s church!

There are many atheists in this world — but there are no atheists in the next. The Psalmist tells us that it is the fool who says in his heart there is no God. (Psalm 14:1) There are many fools in this world — but there are no fools in the next. No atheist or agnostic will remain so forever! Some day all atheists will believe, and all agnostics will care. Someday all fools will repent of their foolishness.

Nikita Khrushchev once gave a speech in which he said that the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin “flew into space, but didn’t see any God there.” If Yuri had really wanted to see God from his tiny space capsule, all he needed to do was open the door! Nikita and Yuri are believers today. I don’t know if there are any atheists in foxholes, but I do know there are no atheists in Hell (only former atheists). We are seeing that same sort of realization in verse 13.

Verse 14 tells us that the third woe is soon to come. The seventh and final trumpet will be the third and final woe of the three woes proclaimed by the eagle in 8:13. The Greek word translated “soon to come” means “without delay, quickly, speedily.”

Let’s take a moment to review where we are: The message John is told to relay is that the church will undergo severe hardship and may at times appear to be defeated. But John’s message also tells us that God is on the church’s side and all will be well in the end. The church’s final victory is assured.

So far, John has relayed this message in two ways: First, the city of God will be trampled under foot for 3½ years, but the inner sanctuary will be protected. Second, two witnesses will prophecy for 3½ years , but then be killed by the beast. Their apparent defeat, however, is only temporary. After 3½ days they come back to life and ascend to Heaven.

In Chapters 12 and 13 this message will be told again in two different ways: First, in Chapter 12, a woman will be forced to flee into the wilderness for 3½ years, yet will find there a place of nourishment and protection. Second, in Chapter 13, a beast will overcome God’s people, and yet his authority will last for only 3½ years.

As we study this book, I know that sometimes it seems I repeat myself a lot. The reason for that is that God is repeating himself a lot! The central message of this book is being told again and again through many different images and symbols. Do you want the Cliff’s Notes version? Here it is: God loves the church! Things may appear bleak, but the church will be victorious! God’s enemies will not win, but rather will be judged and punished! (But isn’t God’s version so much better!)

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verses 9-10

9 For three days and a half men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 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.

Verses 9 and 10 paint a vivid portrait of the wicked world celebrating the death of the two witnesses. Evil men had once celebrated the death of Jesus, no doubt thinking they had at last overcome him and had the last word — and yet look at what happened just a few days later. The evil celebrants in these verses are about to relive that history. Things are not what they seem!

How long do they gloat? Verse 9 tells us — 3½ days. We know what that means! It means the world’s celebration is premature and temporary. It means their celebration will not last long. Why? Because this apparent defeat is not really a defeat at all, just as Jesus’ apparent defeat on that cross was no defeat of Jesus at all, but rather was the defeat of the world and of Satan, the prince of this world.

Those who hate the church celebrate and rejoice at its apparent demise. Verse 10 tells us that the church had been “a torment” to those who dwell on the earth. Why? Because those who dwell on the earth were evil, and they did not like to be reminded of that fact.

Are we a torment to those living in sin? Do we set before them an example of righteous living that would create such torment in them? Why would we want to do that? Because while some of those in torment are likely to strike back at us, others may be led to repentance. The church is not only the light of the world, it is the salt of the world — and salt sometimes causes torment. Jesus often caused people to gnash their teeth! When was the last time we did that? (And I’m not including when we do that to each other!)

How can we avoid ever causing someone torment? By living the same way they do. In fact, if we proclaim righteousness but live unrighteously, our hypocrisy will cause them great happiness rather than great torment. Those who compromise with the world will never cause the world to experience any torment — at least not in this life. If you want to avoid experiencing what these two witnesses experienced, then just blend in with the world.

Those who dwell upon the earth thought the church had been defeated, and they were very glad to be rid of it. As you recall from our introductory classes, the Roman historian Tacitus referred to Christianity as a disease, which is how many people see it today.

What about us? Are we friends with the world, or would the world like to be rid of us? We know what the Bible has to say about friendship with this evil world — “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

This country’s view of Christ is changing, or perhaps I should say has changed. The Hollywood that produced Ben Hur in 1959 and honored it with 11 Academy Awards is the same Hollywood that in the late 80’s produced The Last Temptation of Christ, which portrays Jesus as a lustful sinner, Paul as a lying fraud, and Judas as a selfless hero. Why the change? Why the attack? Could it be because they are in torment and are striking out at the source of that torment?

And please note that this is not an attack against religion — it is a very focused attack against Christianity. The media establishment that released The Last Temptation is the same media establishment that passed on a movie version of The Satanic Verses and balked at publishing cartoons showing Mohammed with a bomb in his keffiyeh. As one critic noted, “When it came to the prospect of enraging the Islamic faithful, the instinct for self-preservation took precedence over the commitment to controversial religious explorations.”

But self-preservation cannot be the sole reason that Christianity is the focus of their attack. Why? Because they have backed away from other controversies when self-preservation was never an issue. In 1990 when Disney was about to release the movie White Fang, the Humane Society complained that the movie was making “an anti-wolf statement.” Disney caved immediately, agreeing to remove a dramatic scene in which which a wolf attacks a man and to adding a pro-wolf disclaimer to the end of the film. When the Hopi Indians complained to Robert Redford about what they called the sacrilegious treatment of their ancient rites in his film Dark Wind, he caved immediately and made the changes they requested. It seems that the prospect of being labeled anti-wolf produced greater worry in Hollywood than the prospect of being labeled anti-Christ!

The next time you are tempted to befriend this world just remember what this world thinks about and says about your Savior! “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4) And this world is filled with enemies of God. “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19) You tell me if a better description of Hollywood was ever penned!

Chapter 11 began by introducing us to two witnesses. At first, they seemed unstoppable, but a beast from the bottomless pit killed them. Afterward, those who dwelled on the earth celebrated and exchanged gifts. Why? Because the two witnesses had been a torment to them. Things looked bleak in verse 10 — but that’s all about to change. Those who were celebrating and exchanging gifts in verse 10 will be in great fear in verse 11.

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verses 5-8

5 And if any one would harm them, fire pours out from their mouth and consumes their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have 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 smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

The two witnesses are at first pictured as unstoppable. Anyone who harms them is doomed to be killed. They, like Elijah and Elisha, have the power to shut the sky that no rain may fall. They, like Moses and Aaron, have the power to smite the earth with plagues.

But in verses 7 and 8 it seems that this pair was not unstoppable after all. The beast from the bottomless pit makes war on the witnesses and conquers and kills them.

Is this defeat a permanent defeat? No. The beast (which we will later see is Rome) does not have a final victory over the church. We know this, if for no other reason, because Daniel told us so 600 years before these events occurred. Daniel 7:23–27 tells us about the church’s victory over Rome, and verse 27 concludes:

And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them.

We also know from verse 2 that this apparent victory will not last. Rome was to trample the holy city for only 3½ years.

Rome may have believed it would be victorious. Rome may have appeared to all the world to be victorious. The church may have even thought that Rome was going to be victorious. And so, for now, Rome is pictured as being victorious. But, as we will soon see, that victory is only an illusion. As terrible as the beast was, it could not stop the church. It could kill the witnesses and seek to destroy their work, but there would be only one permanent defeat, and it would be the defeat of Rome.

Why show their defeat at all if it’s not a real defeat? One word — drama! This is the part of the show where it looks like the hero is dead for sure! How will he ever get out of this one? Those who think we need to add drama to the worship assembly with dramatic music or dramatic performances need to take a look at Revelation! The Bible is dramatic without any help fWhat is the great city in verse 8? It is “allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.” Thus, allegorically, it is called three cities or nations — Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem (the city where the Lord was crucified).

What is the allegory for each of these locales? Rome, like Sodom, was a center of iniquity. Rome, like Egypt, oppressed and persecuted God’s people. Rome, like Jerusalem, promoted a false religion.

I say the allegory extends to three locales, but it most likely actually extends to a fourth — Babylon. The city here is called great, and Babylon is called “great” 10 times in Revelation. For example, in 14:8, we read, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Rome, like Babylon, persecuted God’s people and promoted a false religion.

But shouldn’t we take verse 8 as a literal identification of the great city? How can we? The most immediate problem is that three and possible four locales are given. Which one is the great city? A second problem is that one of the locales, Egypt, is not a city. And if we take this symbol literally, why stop there? Why not then take all of the others symbols in this chapter literally? The descriptions of the great city are symbolic, just like the other descriptions in this book.

Lenski wrote:

Here Jerusalem is to be taken ideally, as the headquarters of all anti-Christianity. The actual city became such a symbol when it crucified Christ and never repented and was then razed to the ground.

Hailey wrote:

John sees this great city as a spiritual Sodom in its moral depravity, as an Egypt holding all people in bondage to lust and sin, and as a Jerusalem that rejected truth and put to death the author of truth.

The message to the church in all of this was that the church was going to suffer just as Christ himself suffered. Rome was, in effect, trying to cast Jesus outside of the city gates just as Jerusalem had done.

Are we surprised by that message? We shouldn’t be. Our own country is doing the same thing. We are throwing Jesus out of our schools, out of our government, and out of our public and social discourse. The courts have turned freedom of religion into freedom from religion. Those who lead public prayers are often told not to mention the name of Jesus in their prayer. He is no more welcome in our society than he was in Jerusalem or in Rome — and his followers should expect no better. “In this world ye have tribulation.” (John 16:33) If we do not have tribulation by the world, it may be because we are of the world rather than merely in the world.

There are many who identify the great city with Jerusalem, but in my opinion that identification just doesn’t fit with the context of this book. If the villain in this book is Rome (which seems indisputable to me), then why would God include a discourse about the judgment of Jerusalem at the hands of that great villain? And why would those seven churches in Asia be all that concerned about the judgment of Jerusalem at the hands of Rome, the very power who was persecuting them? How would Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem provide any comfort to Christians being persecuted by Rome? It might even have the opposite effect — “You’re worried about Rome? You should be. Look at what it did to Jerusalem! You’re worried that you’ve been forgotten by God? You should be. He may be punishing you at the hands of Rome just like he’s punishing Jerusalem at the hands of Rome.”

Yes, when you focus on a verse here and a verse there, some of them could fit the destruction of Jerusalem. (Luke 21:24, for example, looks a lot like Revelation 11:2.) But when you step back and look at those verses in their context, I think you will discover that from that perspective they fit Rome much better.

Every description of the villain in this book fits Rome perfectly, and this description is no exception. The great city pictured here is Rome.

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Revelation Chapter 11 Verses 1-4

1 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, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth.

Barclay: “It has been said that [Chapter 11] is at one and the same time the most difficult and the most important chapter in Revelation.” (I’m not certain I agree with either assessment.)

Chapter 11 begins by considering the question of what was to become of the faithful servants of God during these great trials and judgments. And we see yet another description of this group — this time as a measured temple of worshipers, separated from the world and under God’s protection.

What is the purpose of the measuring rod? In Ezekiel’s vision of the restored temple, a measuring rod was used to make a separation between what is holy and what is common. Recall Ezekiel 42:19–20 —

Then he turned to the west side and measured, five hundred cubits by the measuring reed. He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits broad, to make a separation between the holy and the common.

We are also reminded of Zechariah 2:1-5 —

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

The separation between the holy and the profane also reminds us of 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 —

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

What is John told to measure? The temple, the altar, and those who worship there. The word for temple here indicates the inner sanctuary where only priests were allowed. It is not the Greek word denoting the entire temple with all of its buildings, courts, and porches.

Which temple is John to measure? Is it the Jewish temple in Jerusalem? Some commentators consider this verse evidence that the book was written before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But we must remember that John is seeing a vision, and objects can exist in a vision whether or not they exist on earth. Because so much of John’s imagery has come from the Old Testament, it is very possible that the temple he sees here is the sanctuary of the Old Testament tabernacle. That sanctuary had only one court, and, as Hebrews tells us, was a type of the church.

This temple is the church. Recall Paul’s description of the church in Ephesians 2:18–22 —

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

All Christians are now priests (Revelation 1:6). We all have access to the inner sanctuary. As we just read in Ephesians, God’s place of habitation is now among men. Recall 1 Peter 2: 5 — “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.”

The church was sealed in 7:3, the church was numbered in 7:4, and now the church is measured in Chapter 11. Does God care what happens to the church? Absolutely! These images show God taking great interest in and care of his church. He marks them, he numbers them, he measures them. And God’s measurement is the only one that matters. It does not matter how the world measures us, and it does not matter how we measure ourselves. What matters is how God measures us. If we fall short on his scale, it matters not how we fall on the scales of men.

What is the court in verse 2? The ancient tabernacle had one court (Exodus 27:9). Solomon’s temple had an inner court (1 Kings 6:36), an outer court (1 Kings 7:12), a court for the priests (2 Chronicles 4:9), and an upper court (Jeremiah 36:10). Herod’s temple also had multiple courts, with the great court eventually being called the court of the Gentiles because it was open to everyone.

The temple in John’s vision has only one court as far as we are told, and John is told not to measure that court — that is, not to protect it or separate it from what was common. The Greek word translated “leave that out” in verse 2 can literally mean to cast out by force.

What is represented by this outer court? One popular view is that the measured temple denotes the faithful in the church, and the outer court denotes those who prove unfaithful and who compromise with the world by following the doctrines of Balaam, Jezebel, and the Nicolaitans. That is possible, but it is also possible that the measured temple denotes that spiritual part of a Christian’s life that is hidden with God in Christ and that in this book is viewed as already residing in Heaven, and the outer court denotes the physical life of the Christian under Roman persecution, something that would be temporary both from the standpoint of Rome and from the standpoint of our limited time here on earth. I favor this second view because it seems to me that Revelation has already made the division between the faithful and the faithless in the church, with the latter already being place firmly in Rome’s camp as those who dwell upon the earth.

God is telling the church that it will soon undergo a period of intense persecution but that it will be sustained. Rome will be allowed to trample the church for awhile but it will not be allowed to destroy its heart; that is, its inner sanctuary.

God is telling the church that he will not permit it to be annihilated, and that must have been a real fear for Christians at this time. How could the church withstand mighty Rome? It must have appeared to many as if the church would soon be completely wiped out.

Do we have similar fears today? It is easy to become discouraged when we look at the state of the Lord’s church today in a world that seems to be in free fall, and sometimes seems to be carrying the church down with it. “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Yes — but only if we are faithful and only if we pass that faith on to others through our faithful proclamation of the gospel. We should not be discouraged because we are in the minority because God’s people have always been a minority on this earth except for two times — just after creation and just after the flood. But if we ever stop proclaiming the word of God to a lost and hostile world, then we have good cause to be discouraged, and the answer to Jesus’ question in Luke 18:8 may be “no.”

Why was the trampling to last 42 months? This period of time is the same as 1260 days (42 months of 30 days each) and is also found in Revelation 12:6 where it is also called “time, times and half a time” (Revelation 12:14); that is, three and one half years (12 months times 3 years plus 6 additional months).

As elsewhere in Revelation, this time period should not be interpreted literally but instead is used to symbolize a state of affairs. To determine what state of affairs is depicted, we should first consider what all that symbol is used to describe:

It is the period during which the holy city will be trampled in 11:2.

It is the period during which the witnesses will prophecy in 11:3.

It is the period during which the woman will be nourished in the wilderness in 12:6, 14.

It is the duration of the beast’s authority in 13:5.

In Daniel 7:25 and 12:7 it is the period of time during which the little horn will persecute God’s people.

We haven’t studied all of those texts yet, but in each of them the symbol 3½ depicts a period of time during which God’s people will be persecuted yet sustained. That is, the symbol depicts a temporary persecution.

Why is 42 months used to depict a temporary persecution? We could ask the same question about 1260 days. The solution appears when we note that 42 months and 1260 days are each equal to 3½ years, which is a broken 7.

Why not always use 3½ years? Why are 42 months used sometimes, and 1260 days used at other times? It may be that going from years to months and even to days makes the same time period look even more temporary. Others say that days are used here to denote the day to day activities of the two servants as they prophesy about God.

We have seen the number 7 used many times in this book to denote something that is perfect and total. In fact, this book is constructed around the number 7 — the letters to the 7 churches, the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, the 7 thunders, the 7 bowls of the God’s wrath. So it is not surprising to discover that some of the most important symbols in this book are keyed to the number 7. Later we will see 666, which is one such symbol. Here we see another such symbol, 3½.

If God’s judgment of Rome is a 7, then Rome’s persecution of the church is just a 3½. Isn’t that a beautiful symbol? Rome can’t pour 7 bowls of wrath on the church! Rome doesn’t have 7 of anything to use as a weapon against the church!

By saying that the persecution will last 3½ years, God is saying that the persecution is temporary. He is not giving them a specific date 3½ years later when it will end. (Although we should pause to note that at least once God used the symbolic 3½ for the duration of a literal event — the 3½ year drought brought about by the prayer of Elijah discussed in James 5:17.)

Who are the two witnesses? Many different answers have been proposed to that question, including Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah. Some say they denote the Old and New Testaments, while others say they denote the prophets and the apostles. Others say that the two witnesses are the apostles and the Holy Spirit, and they point to John 15:26 for support —

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

In my opinion, the two witnesses once again describe the church. But you sound like a broken record! Can this symbol really be yet another symbol for the church? It is starting to seem like nearly every symbol we come to somehow describes the church! Exactly! And that is how it seemed to its first century audience as well. They were left with precisely the impression that God wanted them to have — the church is so important to God and so loved by God that he is constantly looking at it and caring for it and thinking about it! Jesus is in love with his church! If you ever doubt that, read Revelation!

But on what basis can say that the two witnesses denote the church? In verse 4, they are called two olive trees and two lampstands. In Zechariah 4 two olive trees are used to denote two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. They are Zerubbabel of the royal line and Joshua, a priest. What is it that combines both the priesthood and royalty? The church is a royal priesthood. (1 Peter 2:9) The church is a kingdom of priests. (Revelation 1:6) And as for the lampstands, remember that the seven churches in Chapters 2 and 3 were depicted as golden lampstands.

But why are there two witnesses? Although there are many different symbols for the church in this book, each shows us the church from a different perspective. Here the focus is on the testimony of the church. These two witnesses testify, and two is the number of confirmed testimony.

John 8:17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.

Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

John 5:31–32 If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true; there is another who bears witness to me, and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is true.

Matthew 18:16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

1 Timothy 5:19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

Why do the two witnesses prophecy in sackcloth? Sackcloth was a coarse fabric woven from goat or camel hair, and it was worn at times or mourning or penitence. It was also the characteristic attire of the Old Testament prophets.   

What is very clear in this depiction is that the church continued to operate even while being persecuted. Rome may have trampled the church, but Rome was not able to stop the church. The proclamation of the gospel continued despite Rome’s best efforts to stamp it out.

Once again, we have a lesson for the church today. God is depending on his church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. He has given us that great commission, and he expects us to do it. If we do not do it, then it will not be done. Even in the darkest hours of persecution, God expected the church to continue its mission — and it did. What excuse will we have if we are ever found to have failed in that mission? If they preached Christ in the face of death, then how will God respond if we fail to preach Christ in the face of ridicule?   

To sum up, so far in Chapter 11, John has been told to measure the temple of God, and two witnesses have been sent out to prophecy for 3½ years. The message in a nutshell is that the church is going to be persecuted but that persecution will be temporary. Although Rome will trample the church for a short time, the spiritual strength of the church will not be harmed.

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