Between the 6th and 7th Trumpets
Chapters 10:1–11:14
Since the judgments that have fallen thus far have brought us to the moment when Christ will personally appear out of heaven in judgment (as indicated in the sounding of the seventh trumpet – Rev. 11:15-18), further details as to this monumental event are now given to us in a parenthesis. This parenthesis consists of two subjects.
The Mystery of God Being Finished
(Chap. 10:1-11)
The first is the declaration of “the mystery of God,” which involves the question as to why God has allowed evil to continue on earth unchecked. This mystery is now about to be finished by Christ (the “mighty Angel”) publicly intervening to claim His inheritance according to the prophecies of “the little book.” The contents of the little book are the sum of the prophecies of the Old Testament which promise that Israel’s Messiah will come and reign in a worldwide kingdom (Isa. 32:1; Psa. 45:1-5; Psa. 72; Zech. 14:9, etc.). These Scriptures that pertain to the coming of the Messiah are called “the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2). The act of setting His foot on “the sea” and “the earth” is a picture of Christ asserting His rights to His inheritance, which is every created thing (Psa. 24:1; 95:5). This is an answer to Psalm 2:8-9.
The moment Christ publicly intervenes in judgment “the mystery of iniquity”—which is the working of “lawlessness” among men in opposition to the will of God in all things divine and secular—will be brought to a close. It is something that has been going on since the apostles’ day, and has continued to grow and will reach its culmination in the apostasy of “the man of sin”—the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:6-8). God has put a restraint on the progress of evil today through two restrainers which He has set on earth to curtail its progress. The Apostle Paul defines these as:
• “That which restrains” (2 Thess. 2:6).
• “He who restrains” (2 Thess. 2:7).
“That which restrains” refers to the principle of law and order in human government which God put in man’s hand to exercise after the flood (Gen. 9:5-6; Eccl. 5:8; Rom. 13:1-7). J. N. Darby said, “‘That which hinders’ therefore, is the power of God acting in government here below as authorized by Him. The grossest abuse of power still bears this last character. Christ could say to Pilate, ‘Thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above.’ Wicked as he might be, his power is owned as coming from God” (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, on 2 Thessalonians 2). He also said, “‘That which restrains’ in the Greek means a thing. What is it? God has not told us what it is, and this, doubtless, because the thing which restrained then is not that which restrains now. Then it was, in one sense, the Roman Empire, as the fathers thought; who saw in the power of the Roman Empire a hindrance to the revelation of the man of sin, and thus prayed for the prosperity of that empire. At present the hindrance is the existence of the governments established by God in the world” (Collected Writings, vol. 27, pp. 302-303).
The second Restrainer is “He who restrains” (2 Thess. 2:7). This refers to a divine Person—the Holy Spirit residing on earth in the Church—acting to restrain evil in various spheres. The Apostle Paul says that the Spirit will restrain “until He be taken out of the way [be gone].” Thus, there will be a time when the Holy Spirit will no longer reside on earth. Presently, the Spirit dwells in the Church, but when the Church is called away from the earth at the Rapture, the Spirit will be “gone” from the earth at that time as well, for He dwells in the Church “forever” (John 14:16). This does not mean that the Spirit will cease to work on earth. He will continue to work here, but it will be from heaven as He did in Old Testament times.
After the Rapture, evil will flow on at an accelerated pace, because the governments in the West will apostatize and the Spirit of God will no longer be residing on the earth to restrain evil. However, the working of evil will be halted abruptly at the Appearing of Christ, which is the point before us in Revelation 10.
An Adequate Witness Will Be Maintained in Jerusalem
(Chap. 11:1-14)
The second part of this parenthesis indicates that the Appearing of Christ will also be the time of the Jews’ deliverance and the nation’s blessing. And while they wait for it, God will use them in testimony during the Great Tribulation.
Vss. 1-2—The “Angel” (in the KJV) who speaks to John here is the same Angel mentioned in chapter 10:1, for the subject is connected with the word “and.” It is the Lord Himself. This is clear from verse 3—“I will give power to My two witnesses....” This could only be the Lord speaking. John is given a “rod” and is told to “measure” three things: “the temple of God,” “the altar,” and “them that worship therein.” As a rule in Scripture, when God measures something, it is a sign that He is about to take up with it with blessing in mind (Jer. 31:39; Zech. 2:1-5; Ezek. 40-43). Measurement also implies that He knows and cares for that which He measures.
• “The temple of God”—signifies His dwelling place.
• “The altar”—signifies approach to God on the ground of a sacrifice.
• “Them that worship therein”—signifies the Jewish remnant.
Putting these three things together, we learn that at the time of the great apostasy, which will result from the Antichrist’s delusions, God will have a company of Jews (the remnant) that will remain faithful and will draw near into His presence in worship and prayer.
The “court” in the temple is where the mass of the people stood outside the sanctuary (Luke 1:10, 22); it signifies the mass of the Jews in that coming day. It is not measured because these Jews will be faithless and apostate. They will have received the Antichrist and believed his lie, and thus will worship the image of the Beast. They most surely will not be taken up for blessing, but rather, given over “to the nations” (the western confederacy under the Beast) who will have control of “the holy city” Jerusalem and the land of Israel during the latter half of the coming prophetic week. Thus, the apostate mass of the Jews will be trodden “under foot” and will exist as captives and bond-servants in the empire of the Beast during that time. They will do his bidding in intensifying the persecution of their brethren—the faithful Jewish remnant.
Vs. 3—Regardless of how dark things will get in the Great Tribulation, when the lie of the Antichrist will deceive the western world and the apostate Jews in the land of Israel, God will maintain an adequate witness for Himself signified in “the two witnesses.” (“Two” is the number of adequate witness in Scripture – John 8:17; Deuteronomy 19:15.) These witnesses are not two literal persons, as many have thought. Rather, they symbolize a small but adequate portion of the Jewish remnant that will remain in the city of Jerusalem (where the Antichrist will reign) to witness for God in the face of the great apostasy. This portion of the Jewish remnant will be miraculously empowered by God for this special testimony. (The rest of the remnant will flee to the mountains for safety – Matt. 24:16.)
F. B. Hole said, "The question naturally arises; are we to understand these verses as predicting the rise of two actual men, or is it rather that God raises up and maintains, for as long as it suits Him, a sufficient and powerful testimony having the characteristics of both Elijah and Moses? We incline to the latter view and that especially because of the symbolic character of the whole book. We think then that they indicate—not a large and abundant testimony; that would be indicated by three and not two—a sufficient testimony, divinely, indeed miraculously, preserved and sustained at this epoch" (The Revelation, p. 247).
W. Scott said, "On the question of the number of witnesses conjectures innumerable have been advanced, such as the two Testaments, the Law and the Gospel, Huss and Jerome, the Waldenses and the Albigenses, etc. Others with more show of reason, and with an apparent sanction of Scripture, suppose that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses, quoting Malachi 4:5 in proof of their contention. 'Remember ye the Law of Moses My servant' (v. 4) would not imply a personal presence of the great lawgiver in the scenes of the last days; whereas verse 5 does seem a very express declaration that the distinguished prophet has again to reappear in Palestine: 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.' A full and adequate testimony is the thought purposely intended in the number of the witnesses. It seems to us that a larger number than actually two is called for in the solemn crisis before us, also that verse eight supposes a company of slain witnesses" (The Book of Revelation, p. 230).
The question was submitted to the editor of Help and Food magazine: "Ques. — Will you kindly explain the meaning of the 'two witnesses' of Rev. 11:3? Ans. — We believe they are the faithful Jewish remnant during the second half of Daniel's last week—the time of the Great Tribulation. The number two is not necessarily literal, but denotes an adequate testimony, even as the Law required....Like Moses and Elias, whose testimony was under similar circumstances, and is analogous to theirs, they have with it, power against their enemies, though the King being yet away, they are in reproach and suffering" (Help and Food, vol. 19, p. 252).
Vss. 4-6—These “two olive trees” and “two candlesticks” will prophesy for “a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (1260 days) in the spirit of mourning (“sackcloth”). This is 18 days short of “forty and two months” (1278 days), which is the end of the prophetic week when the Lord will Appear. This shows that God in mercy will cut short the days of their suffering, becausef the intensity of the persecution against his elect will be so great (Matt. 24:22). Hence, the Great Tribulation caused by the Beast and the Antichrist will carry on for 1260 days. It is not mentioned here, but this great persecution will be stopped by the inroads of the King of the North and his Arab confederacy (Dan. 11:40-42; Psa. 83). They will enter the land from the north and slaughter the apostate Jews—the persecutors of the remnant. This could be as many as ten million apostate Jews killed in a few days (Zech. 13:8), after which the Appearing of Christ will occur.
Vss. 7-14—When the “testimony” of the two witnesses is finished they will be slain and then caught up to heaven in the last phase of the first resurrection (chap. 14:13). The “remnant” mentioned in verse 13 is not the God-fearing remnant of Jews, but simply the rest of the people in the city who were not killed by the earthquake. These are guilty, unrepentant, apostate Jews who wish that God would turn away from them. They give “glory to the God of heaven,” not in the sense of worship from their hearts, but as being forced to acknowledge that it has been His hand that has caused it to happen.