February 22 - The Two Witnesses (pt. 1)

February 22 – The Two Witnesses (pt. 1)
Revelation 11:1-3

“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court, do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Rev. 11:1-3)

We continue in the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets. The third Woe is still to come, but we are about to be introduced to two new characters in the story. These two witnesses have much to say, but before we meet them, we see that John is drawn into the action of the vision. No longer is he a bystander, but now is an active participant. He is given a measuring stick and told to measure the temple and the altar and to count the worshipers. Funny thing, though – he never relates those measurements or numbers to us.

In Revelation 7:3, the 144,000 were sealed for the protection. That’s kind of the same thing that is happening here. John measured the temple – the holy place of the Israelites and counted the worshipers so that they would be under God’s protection.

In Zechariah 1:16 and Zechariah 2:1-5, the measuring line is used to measure Jerusalem. A line was stretched over a city ready to be destroyed so that it would limit and define the area of desolation. God will limit the destruction that is about to happen by stretching a line of demarcation over his holy temple and the worshipers that are there.

Looking at Zechariah 2, we find that Zechariah speaks with the man doing the measuring as well as the angels who tell him that the Lord will be a wall of fire protecting Jerusalem. There will be no other walls. Why not? The population is so immense that it can’t be contained within walls. Only the walls that God sets around the city will be able to protect the people within. In Zechariah 2:5, the promise from God is that He will be the glory within.

Back to Revelation … God is giving the Gentile nations (not necessarily referring to us – but those nations that oppose God) permission to trample on the holy city. The time for this is only 42 months.

If you’ve done any study in the book of Daniel, you will see that this number equates to ‘time, times, and a half of a time’ or 3 ½ years, or 1260 days. All of these numbers are given to us by God so we can see the cohesiveness in His mind. It’s as if we are given a clue to the codes that He has impressed into His word.

The witnesses (in Rev. 11:3) will prophecy for 1260 days.

These two things – the trampling of the city and the witnesses speaking – will occur simultaneously. It will last for 3 ½ years. According to Daniel 12, this is the last ½ of the final seven years before the end of the world.

We’re here. God told us in Revelation 10:6 that there would be no more delay. Jesus warned us of this event in Luke 21:24 where he says that the Gentiles will trample on Jerusalem until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The time of the reign of Gentile nations is coming to an end, along with everything else.