Revelation Chapter 11
Originally posted Tuesday December 23, 2008
Revelation, Chapter 11:1-14 The Two witnesses
The "mighty
angel" of 10:1 has
sworn by an oath in the name (and therefore the authority) of God that
there will be no further delay in God's final act of judgment/salvation now
to be revealed. In preparation for that moment, John has been given a
"measuring rod" with instructions to measure the
heavenly Sanctuary and the Altar (Ezek.
40:33ff; Zech. 2:1-4; Ps. 79:1). The Sanctuary was the Holy of Holies and
the Altar was the great Altar of Holocausts which stands before the sanctuary
within the court of the Israelites. John is told not to measure the outer
court, referring to the Court of the Gentiles who were not allowed into the
Court of the Israelites. This court was surrounded by a wall approximately six
feet tall. According to Josephus, at regular intervals there were
stone slabs, some inscribed in Geek and others in Latin, on which was inscribed
"No foreigner is to go beyond the balustrade (wall) and the plaza of the
Sanctuary zone. Whoever is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his
death."
The term
"measuring rod" has nothing to do with size, as if John were being
asked to calculate the area of the heavenly Sanctuary for reproduction on
earth. The contextual meaning here is that of sealing those who are in the
inner court, the church, and is similar to the sealing described in 7:1-4. What is being measured is the
faithfulness of those within the church who will be "protected" in
the tribulation. They are not protected from persecution or death but
are kept secure in their final victory. The rod or reed of measuring comes
from the word, "canon" as in the Canon of the New Testament - the
authorized 27 books included therein. The Canon is the inclusive
measure of the basis of the Christian's faith and nothing
"outside" the Canon is acceptable. In John's vision, no one
outside of the court of the Sanctuary is within the measurement - they are
not sealed.
The voice adds the
reason for the limiting of the measuring. The outer court (outside the
Sanctuary) has been left to the Gentiles. In this use, Gentile non-Christians
are usually meant. However, John certainly would include among those
who are not sealed "those who say they are Jews and
are not." (2:9). The
Greek word for Gentiles is "ethnos" as in "ethnic" group.
All non-Jews were called Gentiles. The outer court - all that is not the
Sanctuary - has been "given over" to these Gentiles who will
"trample over Jerusalem for forty two months." John has in
mind a very specific group of Gentiles, those under the authority of the Roman
Army. He is bringing forward the memory of the destruction of Jerusalem and the
entire Temple in 70 CE. Forty two months,1260 days or 3 1/2 years are
not literal or symbolic predictions to be analyzed in some numerological scheme
(Dan 8:14). They simply refer to the
time until the end as a finite length of time to give the
reassurance that the tribulation will only last so long and God will end it.
This is an important message to the churches that are in the midst of
persecution and martyrdom. It is meant to bolster the Churches' resolve to
persevere, to stand firm in the faith through this time of hardship and
the temptation to waver.
Coincident with the
trampling of Jerusalem and the outer court two of God's prophets have
been given authority to prophesy there for 1,260 days (42 months with a
month being 30 days). Again, John is recalling the events of the last few days
before the Temple was destroyed. The Jewish Zealots withstood the Romans for
some time (the war began in 66 CE). During the last days before the city and
Temple fell the Zealot prophets continued to prophesy that God would intervene
at any moment and deliver the Temple from the unclean hands of the Romans.
They, as we so often do, thought of God as a shield against bad things
happening to good people. Their cause was righteous and noble but they perished
without the deeper spiritual insight that God does not keep us from harm no
matter how "good" we are or how strong our faith is.
God protects us through harm and not from it. Those who understand this
truth - no matter the outcome, know they are God's in all things and at all
times.
The two prophets are
designated as the two olive trees and two lampstands that stand before God. The
interpretation of these two metaphors is complex. A number of known
Biblical characters have been tapped as one or the other of these two prophets.
The choices may speak to identifying figures popular in the church of the time.
But to stress the identification too far is to miss the point John is making.
The two prophets are the church doing what the church is suppose to be doing -
standing in fearless witness against the forces of the State, real or presumed.
In that light the two could be Peter and Paul who bore witness to the
absolute lordship of Christ against the might and hubris of Rome. It could be
Zerubbabel the king and presumed descendent of David, and Joshua the priest who
returned from Babylonian exile to rebuild the Temple and stood against hostile
resistance which attempted to foil God's purpose. If a choice must be made, and
in view of the events of the seventh trumpet, the best would be Elijah and
Moses. In biblical and apocalyptic traditions both were said to have been taken
up into heaven before they died. Elijah "shut the sky" preventing
rain and used fire to destroy his enemies. Moses turned water into blood and
was God's agent in bringing plagues upon Egypt. In the Christian and Jewish
tradition, Elijah was to return as the forerunner of the Messiah, and
both Moses and Elijah participate in the transfiguration vision bestowing upon
Jesus the prophetic and Torah authority.
After the specified
1260 days the beast of the bottomless pit is allowed to kill the two prophets -
a reminder to the churches of the possibility of martyrdom for those who continue
to confess Christ as Lord rather than Caesar. The two dead prophets lay in the
streets of Jerusalem (the great city) where Jesus (their Lord) was crucified.
John refers to Jerusalem as both Sodom and Egypt, the place of moral
degradation and bondage to oppressive slavery. After the Romans destroyed the
city, thousands of Jews were marched out and sold into slavery throughout the
empire. Thousands more were executed in Roman arenas in Syrian and Caesarea.
Burial of the two prophets was not permitted (in violation of Torah) and
the world celebrated their deaths thinking they were now rid of these
tormenters.
But God would have
the last word. As an example to the churches of the outcome of conquering
through death, after a symbolic three and a half days, God breathed life into
them (Ezekiel's field of bones) and called them up into heaven to the terrified
amazement of their enemies. As the two martyrs were ascending to God a great
earthquake struck the city killing seven thousand people (seven times 70 companies).
John sees the rest of the pagan Gentiles giving glory to God. This does not
mean praise or acceptance of God as the one God. It means they credited this God with a miracle
that any god might perform.
Revelation, Chapter 11:15-19 The Seventh Trumpet
The angel has
proclaimed there will be no further delay (10:6).
God's kingdom is about to dawn (Dan.
7:10-11). And so it is with the blowing of the seventh trumpet accompanied
by loud voices in heaven. "The kingdom of the world has become [what it has
always been,] the kingdom of our Lord (God) and [God's] Messiah" who
reigns forever (Isa. 27:13; Dan. 2:44;
Ps. 145:13). The shouts of the voices are met with worship before
the throne of God by the twenty four elders. God's reign is
affirmed. The time for "judging the dead, rewarding the servants,
prophets and saints and destroying the destroyers of the earth cannot be far
off. As if to join the heavenly celebration the curtain of the
heavenly Sanctuary is opened, the Ark of the Covenant is visible and
the presence of God is seen within the lightening, thunder, earthquake and
heavy hail.
We thought we had
arrived at the end. The kingdom was affirmed and God reigns over all. But what
John has given us in his vision is not the end of struggle, but the beginning
of the end. Now that God's kingdom has been identified as the true kingdom
of the world wholly belonging to God, the war of possession can commence. At
stake is the world. In question is the power. In the balance is love, peace and
justice weighed against hate, violence and oppression.
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