This morning we're going to look
for a few moments at Revelation chapter 11. Remember, it is the
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about His person,
His glory, and His priestly redeeming work. I'm taking the title from
what is said in verse 1. Revelation 11 verse 1. There
was given to me, John said, there was given to me this rod. this
reed like a rod, and the angel stood saying, and this is that
messenger of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty
angel of God, the mighty messenger of God, rise and measure the
temple of God, the altar, measure them that worship around this
altar of God. So I'm taking the title, Measure
the Temple, Measure the Altar, Measure the People of God. Now
this temple here that's mentioned is symbolic of the Lord's people,
His church, His people. For He dwells within His temple,
within His people. Remember, Christ in you is a
hope of glory. The altar here, whenever we see
altar and read about the altar in Scripture, it's always in
reference, type, and picture, and fulfillment in the Lord Jesus
Christ, who is the altar of our sacrifice. For God's people worship
around the altar. The altar here is Christ sacrifice
whereby He purchased us with His own blood, cleansed us from
all our sin, whereby He brought in everlasting redemption and
everlasting righteousness for His people, for He obtained for
them eternal redemption. Daniel speaks about it all the
way in Daniel chapter 9, where it says the Lord put away sin
and brought in everlasting righteousness for us. Now throughout our study
in the book of Revelation, there are three things we need to keep
in the forefront of our thoughts. Sometimes we read through this
Revelation and we see so much death, destruction, wrath, and
turmoil that we might be grown and tempted to despair of any
hope of salvation. But keep these three things in
mind as we study through the rest of this book, Lord willing,
in weeks to come. Number one, the Lord Jesus Christ
is complete, is in complete and sovereign and absolute control
of all things. The Lord rules and reigns over
all things. He reigns as the sovereign King,
Lord of lords and King of kings. All things answer to Him. Of
Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. He's the absolute
supreme King. of all things. Notice in verse
17 of Revelation 11, when that seventh angel sounds that trumpet,
saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art
and was and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee great
power and hast reigned. From everlasting to everlasting,
God rules and reigns over all things. He reigns and rules in
creation, He reigns and rules in providence. He reigns and
rules in salvation. I had an interesting phone call
the other day. I called a particular place where
I was wanting to make reservations for later in the fall of the
year. And I said, I want to make a
reservation for the middle of October. Made the reservation. And then this lady made this
comment. She said, if I'm not providentially hindered, I'll
see you. Boy, that's a good statement. That lady knew something of the
providence of God. Not many people talk that way.
If I'm not hindered by the providence of God, I'll see you then. And
I answered back to her, Lord willing, I'll see you. And then
I told her, I said, you must be a believer. And she said,
I am. I am a believer. So those who
believe the gospel believe that God is absolute sovereign in
creation and in providence and in salvation. He rules and reigns
over all things. The second thing we need to keep
in mind is this. The church and kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ are safe and secure in the hands of our sovereign
Lord. He will not lose one of His elect,
those for whom were given to Him in that covenant of grace,
those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ put away their sin, obtained
for them eternal redemption, purged them from all sin. He
will not lose one of His sheep. He says that, doesn't He? My
sheep hear My voice. I know them and they follow Me.
I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. God saves us with an everlasting
salvation. He will not lose one of His elect.
They've been sealed by the power of God, predestinated and ordained
to eternal life. We saw that in chapter 7, where
the saints of God have been sealed by God. No one can break that
seal. We're sealed by the Holy Spirit.
All those given to Christ, the Lord promises, He said, I'll
raise them up in the last day. In John chapter 6. The third
thing we need to keep in mind is this. The Lord Jesus Christ
will have the victory over all enemies. Now, as we read through
this book, it seems like we're being defeated, but remember,
the end of the story, who wins? He wins, and we're winners in
him. The Apostle put it this way in
Romans 8, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Thanks
be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ will have the total complete
victory over all His enemies. He wins the battle for us and
we're victorious in Him. We have no need to despair. Remember
in chapter 6 verse 2, I told you that was one of the key verses.
He goes forth conquering and to conquer. He defeats all our
enemies. Sin, Satan, death, hell and the
grave. He's victorious. He ever lives
to intercede for us now and forever. Now that brings us to chapter
11. We see some of the bitter experiences the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ will experience when the sweet word of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is declared. Remember last week in our lesson
from chapter 10, verse 10, When John took a little book out of
the angel's hand and ate it up, it was in my mouth sweet as honey.
And as soon as I had eaten it, it was bitter in my belly. Talking about the bitter persecution
that will come when preaching the gospel. And he said to me,
thou must preach again. concerning many people, many
nations, tongues, and kings. That's why God has not left Himself
without a witness. My two witnesses shall speak
for the truth. Even in those times of bitterness,
bitter persecution, and it will come, the Lord says the gospel
must be preached again and again for witness unto all nations. Our Lord said this in Matthew
24. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world, Matthew 24, 14, for a witness to all nations. And then shall
the end come, then the Lord will end all things, all judgment
will take place, and the Lord will take his people. Home to
glory. He said, I am He that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. If I go away, I'll
come again and receive you to Myself that where I am, there
you may be also. The Lord has ordained the preaching
of the Gospel to call out His people. And He will call them
out. And they will hear. And they will come. to the Lord
Jesus Christ. You remember we read in 1 Peter
2, did you notice that statement? It said, to whom coming? To whom
coming? We're always coming to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Always looking to Him. Always
believing. Always repenting. Always looking
to the Lord Jesus Christ for all salvation. Now, let's take
a look at verse 1. And I don't know how far we'll
get here. We've got notes prepared down
through verse 6 and 7. If we don't get that far, we'll
take another hitch at it next week. There was given me a reed
like a rod, a measuring stick, a standard of measurement, a
reed like a rod. If you're on the job and you're
told by the boss to measure something, you wouldn't just go out there
and guess at it, would you? You have a reed or rod. You take
that measuring tape and you stretch it out and you say, okay, it's
24 inches and 3 eighths. You wouldn't just guess at it,
would you? The Lord doesn't guess at things. He has a standard
of measurement. And the standard of measurement
is His Word. All scriptures given of God.
The reed and rod that we measure all things. In the spiritual
kingdom, we measure all things by the Word of the Lord. If the
Word of the Lord says, well, it's not this, it's not that,
but rather it is this, that's how we know what the truth is,
by the measuring of the Word of the Lord. And this angel here
is the Lord Jesus Christ, that mighty angel that came down out
of heaven, as it says in chapter 10, verse 1, I saw another mighty
angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow
was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his
feet as pillars of fire." Now, it's the same description that's
given of the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter 1. So this same angel
has this same book of God's decree in his hand, and he gives it
unto John, and he says, use this as a measuring rod, as a standard
of measurement. He says, rise, he said, measure
the temple of God, measure the altar of God, and then measure
those that worship therein. Now, what is this temple of God?
And what is it a symbol of? And what does the measuring of
the temple of God mean? Now, the temple of God and the
altar of God, the temple and the altar and those that worship
therein certainly speaks of those redeemed by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking about God's church,
those who have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous
light. The redeemed of the Lord who
worship the Lamb. The redeemed of the Lord who
worship the Lamb, sing about the Lamb, love the Lamb, the
Lord Jesus Christ. As it says down here in verse
16, of Revelation chapter 11. The four and twenty elders sat
before God on their seats, and they fell upon their faces, and
they worshipped God. The redeemed of the Lord sing
unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sin in His own blood. And they worshipped God around
this altar. This altar of sacrifice, and
we know the altar of sacrifice that recommends us to God and
puts away our sin, is that blood atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here in His love, not that we
love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the sacrifice
for our sin. Now, often in Scripture, believers
are called the Temple of God. The Temple of God. When Paul
writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, he
says this, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the
Spirit of God dwells in you? And then in 2 Corinthians 6,
verse 16, he says this, What agreement hath the temple of
God with idols? Ye are the temple of the living
God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The temple
of God are God's people. He dwells in them. Every believer
in this temple is made a king-priest through the Lord Jesus Christ,
and we approach God through the sacrifice upon the altar of the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's why he said, come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that you may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. But remember, he said that in
verse 16, and verse 14, there's a reason we can come, seeing
we have a great high priest. that is passed into the heavens,
who put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself." This altar we have,
this altar of sacrifice, is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, that's what gives the atonement,
the beloved atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, such efficacious,
saving power and effectual atonement for our sin, because of who He
is. Because of who he is, it's who
died upon the cross. God bought the church with his
own blood. He's not just a mere man from
Nazareth. despised Nazarene. He is God
Almighty, manifest in the flesh. When he by himself purged our
sin, he sat down on the right hand of God. He thought it not
robbery to be equal with God because he is God. God was manifest
in the flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. Now, what does the measuring
of a temple? and the ark, the altar rather,
and those that worship therein. What does the measuring of those
things mean? The measuring it with the rod
of God, the rod is symbolic, as I said earlier, of the word
of God. It's a standard of truth, which we are judged by the word
of God. In Psalm 110, it said, the Lord
shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion." It's the rod of
His Word. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. The measuring of it means this,
that it's marked out and protected by God's eternal purpose. Remember
our Lord said in Matthew 16, I'll build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. God's elect are chosen
in Christ. sanctified by God the Holy Spirit
to be used of God for His own glory. The Lord knoweth them
that are His, doesn't He? The foundation of God standeth
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. So, the temple, The altar and
those that worship therein are measured out, protected and sealed
by God, the eternal purpose through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now look what it says in verse
two, Revelation 11 verse two. The court that is without the
temple. Now, again, he's not talking
about the temple in Jerusalem, that's been destroyed. But he's
talking in a symbolic way. There was that temple and the
holy place and the Holy of Holies where the mercy seat was, the
Ark of the Covenant, and those things where blood was put upon
the mercy seat. And those priests came in there
to represent the children of God, the people of God, to worship
around that altar of sacrifice. But on the outside were the Gentile
nations. They could not enter in. They
did not have any high priest. They had no atonement for sin.
And that's what he's saying in verse 2. The court which is without
the temple. Outside of the temple. Now inside
the temple is salvation. That temple is Christ. That temple
is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the court, which
is without the temple, outside the temple, he said, cast that
out. Cast that out. Don't measure it. It has no protection. It has no blood atonement. Measure
it not. Protect it not. For it is given
unto the Gentiles. And here he's talking about the
pagan, the pagan idolaters, what we are by nature. but called
by God's grace. And the holy city shall they
tread under foot forty-two months." Now, interesting things are being
said here. While the temple of God and the
altar of God and the people of God were to be measured and accepted
in the Beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, that outer court was
to be rejected, not measured. John was told to cast it out
and do not measure it. There's no protection outside
of Christ. There's no salvation apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no safety, no salvation
apart from Christ. He that hath the Son hath life. Those who are cast outside the
temple, they have no hope, they have no salvation, because they
have no Savior. Salvation is in Christ, in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly, this is the testimony
of the whole volume of Scripture. Those in Christ are protected
and measured. Now, let me give you some examples.
Only those in Noah's ark were safe in that ark from the flood. Those outside the ark, what happened? They all perished. They all drowned. On the Passover evening, the
Passover sacrifice in Egypt, only those inside the blood-marked
house were safe. Those outside the house, if you
were first born, those outside the house which had no blood
mark on the house, they perished. God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. So only those in the house were
safe. Only those in the ark were safe.
Let me give you another Old Testament example. Only those inside the
City of Refuge were safe from the manslayer. Remember the City
of Refuge, that story. If someone unwittingly killed
a relative, And the relative found out that some of his kinfolk
were slain, the manslayer would go after that man. That man was
to flee to the city of refuge. And once inside that city, that
manslayer couldn't touch him. Now go outside the city and you're
in trouble. Stay inside the city and you're safe. All those things
are pictured. of being found in Christ. Christ is at Ark in Noah's day,
Christ is at City of Refuge, and Christ is our Passover. He's
our Passover sacrifice. Now notice what these do who
are without the temple. And these who are without the
temple are those without Christ, without God, and without hope.
They tread underfoot the holy city, a picture of the Lord's
gospel church. They tread underfoot, they tread
upon the gospel. Now this holy city, we're going
to see it again, turn to Revelation 21. This holy city that's mentioned
here is the church. Again, the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ, redeemed, the church of God's elect. Revelation 21,
verse 1, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no
more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city. There it is again,
New Jerusalem. coming down from God out of heaven
as a bride, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. So that holy city, again, is
a picture of the church. What do these do who are cast
outside the temple, who have no regard for the gospel, who
think the gospel of Christ crucified is foolishness? They tread underfoot
those precious saints of God, the elect of God, and they do
so. for 42 months. Now again, that's a symbolic
number of a definite period of time that these things are going
to happen. And we're living in those days. And then when those
42 months are over, it's over. The end will come. The Lord will
come back. The Lord will come back again. Now these 42 months
is a symbolic number, it's the same number as the 1260 days
as mentioned in the next verse when they shall prophesy for
the 1260 days, the preaching of the gospel during the gospel
age in these last days. This number represents the whole
period from the first coming of the Lord until His second
coming. Those 42 months. From His first
coming to His second coming. But here's what I want us to
notice about this crowd. They're outside. They're outside
the temple. They're about it, but not in
it. They may have much religion,
but they have no righteousness. They have no atonement. They
have no high priest. They have no righteousness. They
have no care for the precious holy things of the gospel. They
count the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified
as foolishness. It's a stumbling stone unto them.
For those who believe, what we read a moment ago, to those who
believe, He is precious. You see, His electing grace is
precious, is it not? His particular redemption is
precious, is it not? His saving call, God saved us
and called us for the holy call, these are precious things. But
those who hate God and have enmity in their heart and hate the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will, if they are allowed, to
tread underfoot and tread upon the holy city of God. Now this
is what we see going on in our day and down through history.
The writer of Hebrews put it this way, they trample the gospel
of God under their feet. Let's turn and read that, Hebrews
chapter 10. Turn over there, Hebrews chapter
10. He that despised Moses' witness, he that despised the law died
without mercy, Hebrews 10, 28. He that despised Moses' law died
without mercy under two or three witnesses. There's the two or
three witnesses we're going to see about in a moment. Of how
much sore punishment, suppose you shall be thought worthy who
have trodden underfoot the Son of God and have counted the blood
of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified as an unholy thing. And then despite to the spirit
of his grace, for we know him that has said vengeance belongs
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the Lord
shall judge his people. It's a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of a living God. Now remember, we've seen that
this same crowd, when they see the Lord Jesus Christ coming
back in great glory, they pray into the rocks and the mountains,
and they say, hide us, fall upon us, and hide us from the wrath
of the Lamb. For the wrath of God's Lamb will
come one day. This same crowd who have no use
for the gospel or God's people or God's preachers, They say,
as they did in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, away with
Him, crucify Him. We have no king but Caesar. We
have no king but Caesar. Now look at verse 3 and following.
Verse 3 and following. We see these two witnesses here.
In the same period of time, When the ungodly trample upon the
grace of God, trample upon the mercy of God, God will have his
witness. He said, I've not left myself
without a witness. I will give, and notice the word
power has been added, but it's okay, the marginal reference
says, I will give unto my two witnesses that they may prophesy. that they may preach the gospel
of the marginal reference. I will give power unto my two
witnesses. Now that's the key. Now there's
much speculation about And people want to try to make this to be
that it's Elijah and Moses or somebody, John the Baptist or
another. But I think these two witnesses
here, again they represent all servants of God sent forth to
preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're my two
witnesses. You remember our Lord, when He
sent out His seventy disciples preaching, He sent them out two
by two, remember? The Old Testament rule is, by
the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.
So I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
preach. Over here in verse 10, It says
in Revelation 11 verse 10, they that dwell upon the earth shall
rejoice over them and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another,
because these two prophets that tormented us, they're put out
of business. They will be rejoicing for a
time, but it will be short. and then judgment comes. I will
give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy." Now,
what is important here is not who they are, it's what they
represent and what they preach. What they preach. What do God's
prophets preach? My two witnesses, if for God's
servants, sent of God, my prophets, my preachers, what shall they
preach? I'm determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. To Him give all the prophets
witness. All Old Testament prophets, all
New Testament preachers, prophets, apostles, teachers, evangelists,
they preach Christ as all of salvation. And they will preach
the gospel. They shall preach the gospel. Forty-two months. 1260 days,
and again, it's not a literal day. but it's symbolic of a certain
period of time when God's preachers will preach openly, freely, and
then one day, there will be great, great persecution, and then one
day, great, great revival. They shall prophesy, and they
do so this certain amount of time, determined by God, and
they do so clothed. You see that last part of verse
3? Clothed with sackcloth. Now, when someone was clothed
in sackcloth, that means they're in a state of mourning. Even
today, when most people go to funeral service, they're clothed
in sackcloth. That is, they usually wear black. I wouldn't attend a funeral service
or preach a funeral service dressed in a white coat. That would be
kind of irreverent, wouldn't it? But we go with sackcloth. We go with colors of mourning
and sadness because we are sad. We are mourning. But here the
preachers of the gospel are clothed with sackcloth in the fact that
they mourn over the effect and consequences of sin. They've
been affected themselves. They know that they are sinners
in themselves and that they have no hope of salvation but in Christ. It's a spirit of repentance.
Repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So
I come preaching to you clothed in cyclops. This message of the
gospel is just not a message I preach. It's a message I believe
that has affected me. My sin, my guilt, my sorrow. I preach as one who may never
preach again, because I'm a dying man preaching to dying men, but
I preach to you who may never hear again. So we ought to come
with seriousness of the matter. Clothed in sackcloth. Notice
this power was given to these two witnesses. These men have
no power in themselves. No power in themselves. A couple
of references I have here. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 3.
2 Corinthians 3. They have, you remember Paul
said, I preached and Titus preached, but it's God that gave the increase.
Find 2 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians 3. Turn over there, we see something
of the ministry of the new covenant. 2 Corinthians 3. Verse 5 says,
not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of
ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. are sufficiencies
of God, who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament,
not of the letter, but of the Spirit. Will the letter kill
us? But the Spirit giveth life. Now
look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 5. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servant for his sake. For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness,
hath shined in our heart to give the light Knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in an earthen
vessel, that the ecstasy of the power may be of God and not of
us. God empowers His ministers to
preach the gospel of Christ, that's the power of God, unto
salvation. And notice, they shall preach
120 days. It's given here in days, not
months. Psalm 96 says we are to show forth His salvation from
day to day. We are to preach the gospel every
day and be ready at all times and determined to preach nothing
but the Lord Jesus Christ. And they're covered with repentance. They preach out of a broken heart.
God deny them of a broken heart, save as such as be of a contrite
spirit. God's preachers don't speak in
arrogancy and pride and self-righteousness. They're broken. They're humbled
in God's height. They know that God is almighty
and holy and that we are sinners in need of mercy. Now, it says
of these servants, verse 4 and 5, these are two olive trees. Now, when I think of trees, believers
are called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. But
whenever I think of trees in relationship to believers, I
think of the vine. The true vine. He is the true
vine. We are the branches in Him. These
are two olive trees. Olive oil. Whenever I think of,
whenever the scriptures talk about oil, it's always talking
about the anointing of God the Holy Spirit. These are two olive
trees and two candlesticks standing before God. Now, the reference
there is given in Zechariah chapter 4, verse 1 through verse 14. And sometime if you'd like to
read, it tells us about these two olive trees and these two
candlesticks. The two olive trees, I think,
are a symbol of God's people, who are trees of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord. They bring forth the oil of the
Spirit and grace of the gospel. Blessing through the Word being
preached. They're ministers by whom you
believe. And then they're called two candlesticks. Now, there's
no question about who this is referring to. And again, if you
go back to chapter 1, we've seen this before where it says these
candlesticks are the seven churches. The seven churches that are mentioned
in the Revelation. Now, these candlesticks don't
produce the light. Nor do the trees produce the
oil. The oil comes from God, and the light comes from God.
They hold forth the light in the preaching of the word. They
preach Christ who is the light. And the oil is symbolic and a
symbol of God the Holy Spirit. God will bless the preached word
of truth in the power of God the Holy Spirit to the hearts
of his people. These are two olive trees, two
candlesticks, standing before the God of all the earth. We stand before God and preach
the Gospel. That's why God's servants are
not fearful of men. They're fearful of God. They
fear God. They reverence God. Therefore,
they're committed to tell the truth. Now, let's read on. Verse 5, if any man will hurt
them, fire will proceed out of their mouth and devour their
enemies. If any man will hurt them, he
must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. Elijah had
that given of God, and power over water to turn them into
blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues. as often as
they will. Now let's glean a few thoughts
here and I'll let you go. God's servants are under his
special care. We read in scripture, touch not
mine anointed, do my prophets no harm. Until God's purpose
in their ministry is complete, no one can harm them or put them
out of business. They may be slandered, they may
be hated for Christ's sake, but no one can truly hurt them or
their ministry until God's purpose is done with their ministry.
When their ministry is over, God takes them home. I've seen
that happen many times. The fire that proceeds out of
their mouth is the word of the gospel that will devour the adversary. And we give you two references,
Jeremiah 5 verse 14, Because you speak this word,
behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people
as wood, and it shall devour them. The word of God is quick
and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. Again in Jeremiah
23, 29, it's not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, like
a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces. The gospel is the
power of God and the salvation. It's not my ability or my oratory
of what I speak that makes it powerful, it's the Word of Truth,
the Word of God. God's servants rebuked the enemies
of the Gospel with the Word of Truth, as the Lord did with Satan. When the Lord was tempted 40
days and 40 nights in the wilderness, every time Satan came against
Him, the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked Him with what? Thus saith the
Lord. And we do the same thing. Verse
6, these ministers have power, these witnesses of the gospel,
they have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days
of their prophecy, and that power over waters to turn them to blood
and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. Now, understand that these powers
are of God. The ministers of the gospel have
power, and this power is given of God. Elijah stopped the rain
for what, three years? Moses turned the waters of the
Nile into blood and brought many plagues upon Egypt because it
was God's will. God's word, God's will. The gospel,
the power of the gospel and gospel ministers is given of God. It's the power of his word. that worked in the heart of God's
people. As God used the Old Testament
prophets as a means to accomplish his purpose, even so God will
use men in this day to accomplish his purpose. Never discount the
necessity of preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God
has purposed it, God has blessed it, to the salvation of His people. That's why the Apostle Paul said,
I'm always ready to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They pleased God by the preaching
of Christ to save them that believe. Our Lord said, His word will
never return to Him void, but will accomplish whereunto He
is pleased to send it. It will prosper. And when they
shall have finished their testimony, verse 7, we'll pick up here next
week, when they shall have finished their testimony." What is their
testimony? What is the testimony of the
servants of the Lord? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. What
is your testimony? I know in a lot of churches they
have what they call testimony meetings, don't they? And people
say, well, Brother Jones, you have a testimony and he'll pop
up and he'll spout something about what he did and what he
gave and everything. And Sister Susie over here, she
pops up, she has a testimony. And she tells about everything
that she's done, everything she's given. That's not what he's talking
about. The testimony here is the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is your testimony? Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. It's all our hope.
It's all of our salvation. All of our redemption. All of
our righteousness. When we have finished our course,
you remember what the Apostle Paul said when he was sitting
on death row? He said, I fought a good fight.
I've kept the faith. I finished my course. His ministry
was over. I finished my course. When they
shall have finished their testimony, The beast that ascends out of
the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome
them and kill them." Now, it seems like it ends on a note
of defeat. But the victory that seemingly
Satan thinks that he has is short-lived. And the victory that the ungodly
think they have, seemingly think they have over the righteous,
over the church, putting them out of business, is short-lived. The Lord's coming back. And the
Lord will judge.