A while back, a friend of mine
was going through a time of severe difficulty because of his preaching
the gospel of God's grace, pastoring a nominal, typical Baptist church
where men delight in everything except hearing the gospel. And
God taught him the gospel. He began preaching it. And when
he did, trouble started brewing, and he was having a lot of problems. Of course, I've seen enough to
know pretty well what's going to happen step by step, day by
day. People don't change much. So
I wrote him a letter one day, and I said to him, I said, Richard,
hold on. Things are going to get worse.
You think it's bad now? Just hold on. Time's coming.
It's going to get worse and it did. Well, I'm not a prophet
of doom. I have great optimism because
God rules and I'm delighted that God rules as he does in all things. But I'm not a man who has his
head buried in the sand. I know we're living in dark days.
And I'm saying to you tonight, children of God, hold on. it's
going to get worse. Things are going to be much worse
than they presently are before the end comes. And that's what
we have described for us in Revelation chapter 11. You'll recall that
in chapter eight, John saw an angel flying through heaven and
heard him say with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants
of the earth. We've already seen what the first
two woes of judgment are. The first woe would be a plague
of locusts coming up out of hell and spreading over the earth.
But these locusts would be strange locusts indeed, for they wouldn't
hurt vegetation, only the souls of men. It's a plague of false
religion. It's the coming of false, superficial,
God-hating, God-despising God dishonoring, Christ maligning
religion coming up out of hell and spreading over the earth.
And in that day, when that false religion seems to spread over
the earth, this plague of locusts will bring a delusion to men
so that the vast multitudes of men and women in the world will
live under the delusion that they are the servants of God
while they are following the servants of Satan into hell itself. The Apostle Paul tells us in
2 Thessalonians 2 that this day is a day of strong delusion which
God himself will send upon men who received not the love of
the truth so that by this strong delusion they might all be damned. Now that's the first woe. And
then in chapter nine, we are again told what the second woe
would be. The second woe of judgment, according
to John's vision, will be a terrible time of war. A time of war such
as the world has never seen before. In this war, one third of the
earth's population will be destroyed. I don't know whether it's speaking
of a singular worldwide outbreak of war, or whether it's speaking
of skirmishes of war between countries all over the earth,
but it's a time of great, terrible war. And then we had a word of
assurance. Throughout the book, we have
these little pauses and intermissions. We had a word of assurance given
in chapter 10 to comfort and sustain our hearts. In that 10th
chapter, John sees the Lord Jesus standing with one foot upon earth
and another upon the sea, with the book of God in his hand as
the universal monarch over all things, and he is ruling heaven
and earth. He's ruling the universe according
to God's sovereign purpose. Now there's a reason for that
word of assurance. You see, we as God's children
on this earth, seeing things as they really are, recognize
how bad life is in this world for the church and the kingdom
of God. How little Christ is honored, how little the gospel
is preached, how little men and women hear the truth of God.
And we get discouraged. We have a tendency to get discouraged. It's ever the tendency of the
flesh not to believe God, but rather to look to things that
we see, and that drives us into despair. And so we have these
little encouragements, these great encouragements given to
us throughout the book. You can't help noticing that
as you read through this book of Revelation, we're given repeated
assurances of these three things. First of all, we're told constantly
that our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is in absolute control
of the universe. Don't ever forget that. Don't
ever forget that. If you can, in your heart, if
in your heart, you can constantly recognize that he who loved you
and gave himself for you rules the universe. I mean rules it.
He totally, absolutely, truly, sovereignly, in every detail
of all things, rules this world. That'll keep your heart at peace.
That'll give you some confidence. That'll give you some encouragement. Whatever's going on, whatever
it is, in the religious world, in the political world, in the
secular world, in the church of God, outside the church of
God, in heaven, in earth, in hell, whatever's going on, my
Redeemer's controlling it. He's ruling it. He's doing it. He's accomplishing it. He's performing
His will. Now that's the God I worship.
That's the God who rules this world. That's the God I preach.
Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Lord. And we're constantly reminded
as well, throughout this book, no matter how bad things may
appear, the church and the kingdom of God is safe. You'll recall
that back in the days of Israel, when the Philistines would attack
the children of Israel, the one question on the king's heart
is, is the ark of God safe? That's the one question, is the
ark of God safe? That's the question that's on
the hearts of God's people today. Is the ark of God safe? Is the
church of God, the kingdom of God, the testimony of the Lord
in this world safe? Yes, sir, it is. Yes, sir. I see the religious world around me and
I hear the blasphemies that are proclaimed in the name of Jesus
Christ. And I see what's going on. And were it not for this
assurance, my heart would sink in despair. The Ark of God is
safe. The Church of God, the Kingdom
of God, the people of God shall not be destroyed by the flood
of false religion. The people of God shall not be
hurt by all that goes on in this world. The Lord Jesus Christ
is bringing these things to pass that we now see for the good
of His Church, for the good of His people. I don't know. Honestly,
I don't know how on earth under God The preaching of a babbler
like Jimmy Swagger could possibly be good for God's church, but
it is. It is. It is. Somehow or another, with
these heresies that spring up, God is distinguishing the precious
from the vile, the wheat from the chaff, the true from the
false, the righteous from the profane. He's separating his
children and making them to stand out characteristically as men
and women who are contrary to the religious tide of the age.
the church of God's sake, no matter what happens. And we are
also assured that the people of God will triumph in the end. When everything's done, when
everything's done, when the final chapter has been fulfilled, when
all of God's purposes and every decree of our Father has finally
been accomplished, the church, the people of God, the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ shall be gloriously triumphant. The Lord God in the last day
will hold before a despairing, tormented universe the church
of his redeemed ones and he will display within us the glory and
the wisdom and the marvel of his infinite grace. This, these
are my redeemed ones gathered from the four corners of the
earth. The Lord takes great care to comfort and assure his church
He takes great care to make us know that his elect have a victory
that is certain and sure. We are more than conquerors,
more than conquerors through him that loved us and gave himself
for us. The gates of hell shall not prevail
against his church. The gates of hell cannot possibly
destroy his church. We shall in the end tread upon
the head of Satan himself and we shall triumph over all our
enemies. There's a reason for this often
repeated assurance. It often appears that we're losing
ground. It looks like defeat is inevitable. You ever feel that way? I do. I talk to preachers all the time.
I try my best to encourage them, and I understand their discouragement.
I don't like it, but I understand it. I don't like it in me, but
I understand it in me as well. It's unbelief. It's looking at
things with these eyes rather than with the eye of faith. Looking
at things with a natural understanding rather than with the revelation
of God. We get discouraged because it
looks like we're just simply spinning our wheels in the sand,
accomplishing nothing. It looks like that the church
of God is headed for inevitable defeat and overthrow. I see the
spread of religion in this day and I I see these men on television. I hear them on the radio. I see
their huge plants as you drive down the highway. And here are
men who blaspheme God. Here are men who every time they
stand in their pulpits deceive the souls of men. Multitudes,
multitudes, multitudes follow them. They lack for nothing.
And here are those men who struggle to preach the gospel of God's
grace. have to struggle even to get enough money to pay the
light bill. And I think to myself, it looks to me like we're fighting
a losing battle. It looks to me like we're headed
for certain ruin. It looks to me like we're headed
for certain destruction. Don't be so foolish. Don't be
so foolish. Oh, no. Oh, no. That's not the
way it is at all. Here in chapter 11, we're given
a description of God's final act of judgment before the final
destruction of the earth. Our text for this evening is
Revelation 11, verses 1 through 14. Here again, we're assured of
the safety and triumph of God's church. Though for a time, defeat
appears certain. These verses describe our final
trial and our ultimate triumph. In these verses, our Lord shows
John and us what will happen in those days just before the
end of the world and the second coming of Christ. As I read this
passage, I thought to myself, it's very difficult to determine
whether we are living in the days of the first woe, that time
of the spread of locusts from hell, that time of the universal
spread of false religion, or whether we're living in these
latter days of the second woe which are described in this 11th
chapter. But this I know, this I know. The world has never before seen
such days of spiritual darkness and religious deception as the
darkness and the deception of these days. Now, I'm not speaking
off the cuff. I know that what I say is serious.
I know it has serious profound implications. But I've read a
little history. I've read this book a time or
two, and I'm telling you that the world has never before seen
such spiritual, religious darkness and deception as the spiritual
deception, darkness, and ignorance of this day. There are more people
in the world today, now listen to me, there are more people
in the world today Let's forget the world. Let's just forget
the world for a minute. You don't know what's going on
other places, and I don't know much. But right here in the United
States of America, let's forget the United States. Right here
in Danville, Kentucky, there are more people today who profess
the faith of Jesus Christ here in this city than there have
ever been. In the time I've been here, I
can't count the churches that have been established in the
last nine years in this city. All of them call themselves Christians.
All of them say they're following Christ. All of them say they're
the servants of God. All of them say they're seeking
the glory of Christ. Men and women by multitudes are
joining the churches. They've been baptized. They wear
the name Christian. You ask them if they're Christians?
Yes, I'm a Christian. We live in a Christian city. We live
in a Christian society, in a Christian community, with Christian churches,
and the whole city's going to hell. That's all there is to
it. The whole city. Everybody's persuaded they're
going to heaven. Everybody's persuaded everything's all right.
Everybody's persuaded that God's on their side, that they can
use God any way they want to. And they're persuaded that they
walk in the truth of God, when in reality they know nothing
of the character of God, the truth of God, the glory of God,
or the Christ of God. Absolutely nothing. I've talked
to men and women in this town. Every day, and you do too, every
day, it's astounding how utterly ignorant people can be of the
Word of God and the truth of God while they claim to believe
it. How utterly ignorant they can be. How utterly unaware they
are of the character of God. Why? Why? Because we live in
a society where people are absolutely blinded with religious deception. I was at a place of business
in town here last week and somebody came up and asked me, I better not say what they asked
me for, asked me directions to one of the religious institutions
uptown. And I said, I'd rather give you
directions to the nearest whorehouse. Now that's just what I said to
him. I'd rather give you directions to the nearest whorehouse. I
don't want to tell you where it is. Ain't gonna tell you.
That's all there is to it. I mean to tell you this religious
age in which we're living is a religion of Antichrist It's
a religion contrary to Christ. It's a religion contrary to this
book, contrary to the glory of God. And there's nothing more
damaging, nothing more deadly, nothing more damning in this
world than the religion which we now experience. Nothing. The greatest mission field in
this world, the most needed mission field in this world is the church
that now calls itself the Church of Jesus Christ. Baptist churches,
conservative, fundamentalist churches, men and women, preachers,
deacons, teachers, people in the pews, flat, do not know God. Just do not know God. We've established societies in
the name of God for closing down everything under the sun. And
it'd be perfectly all right with me if you closed down every brothel,
and close down every porn shop, close down every liquor store,
and close down every theater. That'd be all right. But I sure
do wish somehow, under God, we might close down the religious
buildings around this place so that men can not any longer hear
a man lying about the character of God. I'm telling you the truth. We would be better off with no
religion than the religion of this day. As we go through this passage,
I want to just call your attention to four things that John here
describes for us. First, I want you to see in verses
one and two what is implied by the measuring of the temple.
And there was given me a reed likened to a rod, and an angel
stood saying, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar
and then that worship therein. And the court, which is without
the temple, leave out, and measure it not. For it is given to the
Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and
two months." Now, it should be needless for me to tell you that
this is all a symbolical picture. To seek, as many do, a literal
interpretation of this chapter is to miss its message altogether.
John was commanded in verse one to measure the temple of God.
Specifically, he was commanded to measure the sanctuary containing
the holy place and the holy of holies. He was commanded to measure
the altar and them that worship therein. That is to say, the
symbolical picture is that of the church of the living God,
the people of God, all true believers, the holy priesthood, the royal
priesthood of our God. The Lord did not command John
to measure the size of the temple as though he were needing some
information, but rather he commands John to measure the temple, that
is, to mark it out. to mark it out for protection,
to mark it out for safety, to mark it out for specific care,
for specific attention. And so John goes and measures
the temple of God. Now, this measuring of the temple
declares to us that this temple, the people of God, all true believers,
the church of God is absolutely safe no matter what comes to
pass. Oh, it's true. God will visit
Judgment upon this earth and when he visits the earth with
judgment the people of God will suffer with the wicked If God
causes famine to come God's people in the country where famine is
suffer famine just like the others do If God causes flood to come,
God's people experience the flood just like others do. When God
sends judgment upon the earth, the people of God are affected
by that judgment, but they're not hurt by it. The people of
God suffer by the judgment, but it's not intended for them, and
they shall not perish with the world. Oh, they'll suffer with
the world. but they'll not perish with the
world in the end. And this is what John is telling
us. He's telling us that the Lord commands me to mark out
his elect. He commands me to measure the
temple of God so that these are marked out, preserved and kept
by the power of God. Well, Don, how do you know that's
the meaning of this passage? I'll give you three or four reasons.
Number one, the temple of the Old Testament was a type of the
church. The church is called the temple
of God throughout the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle
Paul says, You are the temple of God. If any man defile or
destroy the temple of God, him will God destroy. He tells us
in 2 Corinthians 6, Know ye not that your body is the temple
of God? You are yourselves the temple
of God. God dwells in you. He tells us
in Ephesians 2 in verse 21 that the church is a spiritual household,
a habitation of God by the Spirit, the temple of the living God. God Almighty meets man in this
place. God reveals himself to man in
this place. God resides in the congregations
of the righteous. God's people are his temple.
Not only are local churches the temple of God and individual
believers the temple of God, but God's elect scattered throughout
all the earth, both in heaven and upon the earth. These are
the temple of God, God's spiritual temple, of which that earthly
temple was only a type, a symbol, and a representation. The temple
of God is defined in this text as meaning only the holy place
and the holy of holies. You'll remember that In the Old
Testament temple, there was the outer court, and then there was
the holy place. In this holy place, there was
the holy of holies. And in the holy place, only the
priest would minister. All the other ordinary, common
people worshipped out here in the outer court. Both the Gentile
proselytes and those who were of the physical seed of Abraham,
they worshipped out here in the outer court. In the holy place,
The priests served and they kept the sacrifices and they observed
the ordinances of God. And in that holy of holies, the
high priest alone went once every year. So the significance is
this. John was commanded of God to
mark out the temple, the sanctuary, the holy place and the holy of
holies. That place where only the priest
of God go and worship God, where the sacrifices are made and accepted
to God. In other words, not the nominal
people, not those who are Israel in name, not those who who pretend
to worship God, but these who truly worship him. They are the
ones who are marked out by him. Clearly, the text refers to the
believer, the true believers, God's royal priesthood who continually
worship in the holy place, offering up spiritual sacrifices of prayer
and praise through Jesus Christ, the Lord. And the measuring of
this temple is much like the measuring of the temple in Ezekiel's
day. Turn over to Ezekiel chapter 40. Ezekiel 40, I'll show you
a passage here. The measuring of the temple in
Ezekiel's vision, as in John's vision, was for the purpose of
protecting God's sanctuary. It was for the purpose of separating
the precious from the vile. In Ezekiel chapter 40 and verse,
let me see here, verse 3. And he brought me thither and
behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance
of brass with a line of flax in his hand and a measuring reed. And he stood in the gate and
the man said unto me, son of man, behold with thine eyes and
hear with thine ears and set thine heart upon all that I shall
show thee. for to the intent that I might
show them unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare all that
thou seest to the house of Israel and behold a wall on the outside
of the house round about and in the man's hand a measuring
reed of six cubits long by the cubit and in hand breadth. So
he measured the breadth of the building one reed and the height
one reed. Now turn over to chapter 42,
Ezekiel 42. What was this measuring for? What was the purpose of
the measuring? In Ezekiel 42 in verse 20 we're told. He measured
it by four sides and it had a wall round about 500 reeds long, 500
broad to make a separation. between the sanctuary and the
profane place, to separate the precious from the vile, to separate
the true from the false, to separate God's people lest they be consumed
with that which would take place in the profane place. And then
the outer court of the temple, John was specifically commanded
not to measure. Look in verse 2. But the court
which is without the temple, leave it out. measure it not. It's given to the Gentiles. Another
word for Gentiles is heathen. And the holy city, that which
is called the holy city, shall they tread under foot forty and
two months. Of course, he's speaking specifically
of a vision he has of the temple in Jerusalem and of the holy
city, Jerusalem, but it's symbolical. He's talking about the people
of God, and now he's talking about those in the outer court
who merely profess to be the people of God, and the holy city,
speaking of the whole religious world. The whole religious world. God's special care and protection
does not extend to those who are believers in name only. This
court which is without the temple represents all false religion.
and all false professors of religion. This outer court is to be trampled
under feet of the heathen precisely because God is determined to
destroy all false religion in the world. The world invades
the false church and possesses it. Worldly religionists welcome
the ideas and the principles of the world. The worldly religionists
feel perfectly at home in the world. worldly religionists are
of the world and the world loves its own. This condition of worldliness,
worldliness in the church. Now, I don't mean, I don't mean, you know, having things that appear modern in
the church. That's not what I'm talking about.
I don't mean the way folks dress. I don't even mean specifically
the kind of music they have. I mean worldliness, I mean worldly
principles, I mean worldly doctrine, I mean worldly acceptance, worldly
approval. This worldliness in the church
will last throughout the gospel age as it is represented here
by 42 months. Even in the New Testament era,
the true people of God were played with men and women. men and women
in their midst who were governed and motivated by the principles
of the world and the religion of the world. John dealt with
it in his epistles, Paul dealt with it in his, the church has
always been plagued by it. The problem is it keeps getting
bigger. Surely no one will question the
fact that the great curse of this age is the utter worldliness
of the church. The church of the 20th century
is nothing under the sun but a poor man's country club. It's
the easiest society in the world to get in and the hardest one
in the world to get out of. Doesn't cost you anything to
join up, doesn't cost you anything to stay joined up, and folks
will keep you on the road long after you're dead. Church of
the 20th century could not convert the world, so she joined the
world. She could not change the world, so she changed to suit
the world. You see it all over the place. We build huge buildings and call them
churches of God. We build our gymnasiums and call
them family life centers. Build a building and just an
amusement park called a Christian vacation land. Everything under
the sun, everything under the sun. Go begging for a hearing. Men won't hear from God, so we'll
get them a football player. We'll get them a movie star.
We'll get them a convict. We'll get them a country western
singer. We'll get them something. Somehow, we'll entertain folks.
We've got to do something to get them in the church. We're
not going to tell them anything, but we've got to act like we're
doing something anyway. So we have brought the world
into the church. The greatest mission field in this world,
I say without reservation, is that society of men and women
who are called Christians. who gather in churches around
the world in the name of Jesus Christ, the greatest mission
field in this world. Preacher, you're mad. You bet
your boots I'm mad. I'm just flat upset. I'm upset
that men lie on God, and I'm upset that God's people say so
little about it. I'm upset that men will stand
and deceive the souls of men, and I'm upset that faithful men
will say so very little about it for fear of offending. I'm
upset that men will despise the truth of God, the gospel of God,
and the glory of God, and I'm upset that men who say they love
the truth of God, the gospel of God, and the glory of God
say so little about it. John gives us this measuring
of the temple. He tells us that God's protected his church and
he's determined to destroy false religion. He's going to do it.
He's going to do it. Secondly, John was given instruction
regarding the Lord's two witnesses in verses three through six.
Who are these two witnesses? Lots of suppositions have been
given. Some say they are the law and
the gospel. Some say they're Enoch and Elijah. Some say they're
Moses and Elijah. Others say they represent certain
men who appeared in history, maybe Luther and Calvin. It seems
most reasonable to me to stay within the interpretation of
the passage and say that these two witnesses are another representation
of the church. Why is the church then represented
by two witnesses? Perhaps it's represented here
because there are There is the body of the church itself and
then the spokesman of the church, its pastors, its ministers. But
I rather suspect that the church is here described by two witnesses
for these reasons. Number one, in the word of God,
in the law of God, everything must be established in the mouth
of at least two witnesses. Number two, That the church is
represented here under the sign of two witnesses, the symbol
of two witnesses, because our Lord sent his disciples out into
the world two by two, one like the other fulfilled. And number
three, the Lord here describes his church as being two witnesses
because the church as a functioning body, a cooperative body in the
world, is always represented and always carries on its work
through her chief spokesmen, two witnesses, pastors and evangelists. We call them missionaries. Her
chief spokesmen are these two witnesses, pastors and evangelists. They are the ones who carry on
the work. Oh, they can't do the work without the church itself.
The work is the work of the body as a whole, but the work is carried
on throughout the world, throughout the age by pastors and evangelists,
men who proclaim the gospel of God's grace. Now, the church
as an organization functions through these two witnesses.
These witnesses carry out their work for 1260 days. That's just another symbolical
figure. It's the same period of time that's described under
42 months. It speaks of the whole gospel
age. It's a definite figure. It's a definite period of time.
And we're given a definite number to describe it, but we don't
have any idea how long or how short that period of time will
be. In order to give a clear description, a clear picture
of the church and its mission of evangelism throughout this
age, John gives us here four characteristics of these two
witnesses. First of all, those men who preach the gospel are
under God the means by which his grace is bestowed upon men. Look at verse three. And I will
give power, authority, unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy 1,203 score days, 42 months, 1,260 days throughout
the gospel age. Clothed in sackcloth, they know
what they're doing. They take their business seriously. These are the two olive trees
and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Joshua and Zerubbabel were called olive trees of the Lord, olive
trees before the Lord. We've already seen what the candlesticks
are, the candlesticks. Those those are the lights of
the gospel in this world. And the pastors are themselves
the angels of the churches. They're the messengers of the
churches. And what John is telling us is this, like olive trees,
God's servants bring with them the oil of grace and the blessings
of the spirit of God. And like candlesticks, they bring
the light of the gospel. Now, gospel preachers are not
priests. They cannot confer and they cannot withhold the grace
of God. But as they preach the gospel,
where they preach the gospel, and only where they preach the
gospel, God bestows His saving mercy and grace. I don't hesitate
to declare to you that those men who preach the gospel of
God's grace, Any man who preaches the gospel of God's grace, any
man who faithfully tells the truth of God to a congregation
of men, he is a means of God's mercy to men. Now that's just
fact. That's the way God deals with
men. Every now and then, I know there's
danger, I know there's abuse, but faithful men don't abuse
their privileges. and a man who's faithful, who's
God's servant, will not abuse his privileges and his authority
under God. But I'm telling you that God's
servants are the means by which God brings his grace to men.
Merle read the passage earlier in Acts chapter 8. Those folks
at Severia believed the gospel when they heard a man preach
it. That Ethiopian eunuch believed the gospel when he heard a man
preach it. God sends his grace to men. He sends his grace to
cities. He sends his grace to countries.
He sends his grace to churches as he sends a man to declare
the gospel of his grace. And when God withdraws that man
marker down, he's withdrew his grace. That's just fact. That's just fact. So, well, Pastor,
do you mean that the grace of God depends on a man? No, and yes. No, God does his
work as he will through men, but he never works apart from
men. Is that right, Lindsay? He never works apart from men,
never. God's servants, secondly, as
well as his church, under the special divine protection. I
can't elaborate on this, but in verse five, we read, if any
man will hurt them, these two witnesses, the church and her
spokesman, fire proceeded out of their mouth, like it did out
of Jeremiah's and devour their enemies. And if any man will
hurt them, he must in his, in this manner be killed. It's written
in the book of God, touch not mine anointed and do my prophets
no harm. That simply means you better
not do anything against any of God's elect or against any of
God's preachers. That's what it means. Pastor, how do you dare say the
things you do about other preachers? They're not God's. If they were
God's, Merle, I wouldn't talk about them that way. They were
faithful men, I wouldn't speak anything against them. But I'm
telling you, and I tell you, people hear this tape, I don't
know who'll hear it or where it'll be heard. I tell you, you
better not touch God's servants or God's people. You better leave
them alone. Either join up and support them
or leave them alone. For that which is done to the
people of God is done to God himself. Just as Jeremiah's enemies
were condemned by his words, those who oppose God's kingdom
today shall be condemned by the gospel that we preach. And then
thirdly, in verse six, we're told that those who preach the
gospel as the spokesman for Christ and his church have power over
men and power with God. Look at verse six. These have
power, authority, might. They have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. Elijah did
that. He shut the heavens. And they
have power over waters to turn them into blood. Moses did that. And to smite the earth with plagues
as often as they will. What does that mean? It's still
a symbolic picture. This power is not absolute. But
it's real. Tell you how real it is. You
read Luke chapter 10. Our Lord told His disciples when
He sent them out, He said, go to the city and enter into their
house. If they receive you, the blessings
of God be on their house. If they receive you not, don't
say a word. Don't say a word. Get up from your seat, go out
the door in the streets of the city, dust off your shoes, and
God's wrath is on them. God's wrath is on him. For he
that receives you, receives me. He that rejects you, rejects
me. The Lord told Samuel, I believe it was Samuel, the children of
Israel despised him and rejected him. The Lord said, they haven't
rejected you. They've rejected me. They've rejected me. God's servants have real power
with God and real power over men. Not only does the Lord judge
men according to the prayers of his afflicted people, as we
saw in Revelation 8, but in the final day he will judge men according
to the gospel that we preach, so that as we preach the gospel
under the power of God, that which we bind on earth is bound
in heaven, and that which we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. Fourthly, God's servants, his
church and his kingdom, will accomplish and fulfill the mission
for which they were sent into this world. In verse 7 we read,
And they shall have finished their testimony. The gospel of Christ will be
preached throughout the entire world, and all of God's elect
will be brought to Christ in saving faith by the preaching
of the gospel. But this present gospel age is
going to come to an After this gospel has been preached in all
the earth, our Lord said, then comes the end. God's church and
his witnesses will finish their testimony. I suspect we're getting
close. I suspect we're getting close.
So in the third place, I want you to see how the John describes
the death of God's two witnesses and the joy of the world because
of their death. Read with me beginning at verse
seven. And when they shall finish their
testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, Antichrist,
shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill
them. And their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city, that same holy city described
in verse two, that same holy city called the holy city. Everybody
thought it was the holy city. Everybody imagined it was the
Holy City. It's the religion of the world. It's the religion
of Babylon. It's the religion of man. It's
false religion. They lie in Main Street of the
Holy City, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. Sodom and Egypt. That's what
God calls the religion of this world. Folks think I'm mean,
Bobby. Sodom and Egypt. Sodom and Egypt. Sodom for their immorality, their
perversion, Egypt for their persecution, where also our Lord was crucified.
What's that speaking of? It's speaking of the whole religious
world and the whole secular world. Just as the whole religious world
and the whole secular world joined in one purpose to crucify the
Son of God, The whole religious world and the whole political,
secular world joins together to silence God's servants in
this day and to silence His church. It always has and it always will. Now then, look at verse 9. And they of the people, kindreds,
and tongues, nations, shall see their dead bodies, these two
witnesses, three days and a half, a definite period of time, but
a brief period, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be
put in the graves. And they that dwell on earth
shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and send gifts to
one another, because these two prophets tormented them that
dwelt on the earth." What does that mean? It does not mean that all of
God's saints and all of his faithful servants will be literally killed,
though I have no question many will be physically tortured and
put to death. But it does mean that while there
are true believers in the earth and true witnesses upon the earth,
when Christ comes again, they will be few, very few. They will be few in number. But
there will be some. God will not leave himself without
a witness. The gates of hell shall not prevail
against Christ's church. Remember, the picture is symbolical.
It's not to be taken in a literal sense. The meaning is just this.
There is a day coming. Maybe we're in that day. I don't
know. There is a day coming when the true church of God and the
true gospel of Christ true gospel preachers will be almost totally
eradicated from the earth, so much so that the church will
be looked upon as a dead corpse in the earth, altogether without
power and influence. That's what John sees. I'll give
you an example. In Russia today, religion is
everywhere. They've got cathedrals and church
buildings all over the country. Religion's not dead in Russia.
Religion's very much alive, but the church of God's dead. When
Billy Graham went to Russia, he was preaching to packed houses
with congregations gathered from near and far. Religion's alive,
but the church of God is without power, without influence, unknown
in that country. And that's what's going to happen
throughout the earth just before Christ comes. The voice of God's church will
be silenced, smothered by the religion of Antichrist. It will
lie like a dead corpse in the main street of the world, and
the religious world and the political world, Sodom and Egypt, which
crucified the Lord, will join forces again to silence God's
church. For three and a half days, that
is for a brief but definite period of time, the church in this world
will be as though it were dead. It will cease to have power and
influence. Its prophets will be slaughtered.
And those who remain faithful will be so few that they cause
no disturbance. No disturbance. Nobody pays any
attention. And those men who dance and rejoice and throw
a big party over the death of these two witnesses will think
they're doing God's service. That's what our Lord said in
John 16, Merle. When they despise you and persecute you and imprison
you and kill you, they'll think they're doing God's service.
They'll think they're doing God's service. In verses 9 and 10,
John tells us that while these corpses lie in the streets, here
lies servant of God, the witness of God, the truth of God, the
church of God, as though it were dead in the streets and the whole
world throws a party. Send presents to each other,
congratulate one another. We finally put them out of business. We don't have to listen to those
bigots anymore telling us what evil people we are. We don't
have to listen to that stuff anymore. We all get along well
now. Those disturbers are dead. They
throw a great big party and have a good time. But hang on. Their
joy is premature. The Lord hasn't turned the final
page yet. It's not over yet. We read in verse 11, And after
three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God entered into
them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon
them which saw them. The last thing John saw was this. There will be a final revival
and triumph of these two witnesses. The day is coming. I don't know
how long. or how brief that day will be.
But there's a day coming when the church of God will be revived.
There's a day coming when the servants of God will be heard
in this world, when the truth of God will be declared in heavenly
power. In that day, however long or
however brief it is in God's purpose, that dog in Rome will
go begging for a hearing. Those peddlers of freewill works
religion will not be heard by anybody for they will be exposed
to be the deceivers they are. In that day, men and women will
hear the servants of God proclaim the truth of God's free and sovereign
grace in Jesus Christ. And they'll know that that man
who speaks, speaks the truth of God. I don't know that there
will be a universal acceptance of the message. I don't think
so. It's not implied in the text,
but there'll be a universal recognition of it. There'll be a universal
recognition of it. If I have to live through the
hell that precedes that glory day, I sure would like to be
around when it comes. I may not live to see it, but
I'm telling you that this is what's going to happen. In the
last day, before Christ comes, God's going to revive his church.
He's going to do it. He's going to do it. The spirit
of life from God will enter in again. Oh, that's the day I long for. I'm so weary, so weary of lifelessness. I'm talking about in here, right
here, with me. I'm talking about there with
you. The reason we have no influence, no power in this world to influence
men for good is a lack of a life. That's all there is to it. But
the time is coming when the Spirit of life shall enter into God's
church. And in that last glorious day, the church of God will finally
be triumphant. When the Spirit of life entered
into them, they stood upon their feet And the world stood back
in shock. I didn't know it was in them.
I didn't have any idea they could do that. Look at them, they've
risen up in power. Fear fell upon them which saw
them. And they heard a great voice
from heaven saying, the voice of the archangel, the trump of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ saying, come up hither. This is talking
about the last resurrection day. You can read about it in 1 Thessalonians
4. Come up hither, and there's a
great resurrection, God's church. Both the living and the dead
ascend up into the clouds, clouds of glory to meet the Lord in
the air. And there's nothing secret about
it. Nothing secret about it. Folks talk about a secret rapture.
Here it says their enemies beheld them. When this church that has
been despised for 2,000 years ascends up in the glory of God,
the whole world's going to see what's going on. The whole world's
going to see that these are the people of God and these people
demonstrate the glory of God. And then in that same hour, God's
judgment will begin to fall upon the earth Verse 13, That same
hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city
fell. And the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand,
and the remnant were scared to death. They weren't converted,
but they said, This thing's of God. They gave God the glory. And now the stage is set. for the final act of judgment.
Now the stage is set for the Lord Jesus to turn and fulfill
the final page of the book. The second woe is past, and behold,
the third woe cometh quickly. Are you prepared for this great
and terrible day of the Lord? If you are in Christ, you are
prepared and anxious for it. If you are not in Christ, that
day will seize you suddenly, and in terror you shall be crushed
into hell. Let us who are born of God live
as those who look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Lift up your hearts. with praise
to God and lift up your hearts with confident faith. In the
end, we shall triumph. We shall be victorious. We shall
prevail over our enemies. The cause of Christ shall be
sustained. The glory of Christ shall be
revealed in this earth. God, hasten the day. God, hasten
the day when the religion of Antichrist is stamped out of
the earth. and the truth of God is known
throughout the universe. Amen.