Revelation 11:1-6 – 2025 Jan 23

Our passage this time concerns the third temple in Jerusalem and two men who are identified as God’s witnesses to the world in those times. We are examining the first six verses of a larger chapter (there are 19 verses). This evening’s text introduces important plot points in this future that will come, regardless of how anyone tries to avoid it.

This is a common theme of history, by the way. Deep down, all people know there is a God despite what lie they will use to convince even themselves. Because our default position is that we hate God, we will do anything we can to run in the opposite direction from everything He stands for. In our headlong rush to do anything but yield the battle to our creator, we will run directly away from Him, and that makes us predictable. We will fall into His trap. May it be the one that at the moment leads us to His saving grace.

I broke the chapter down as follows:

KV1: Tribulation Worship

1: Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.

1-2: The Tribulation Temple

3-4: The Two Witnesses

5-6: The Authority of the Two Witnesses

If I were to give this section a subtitle, it would be something like, “Measurements: What to Leave in, What to Leave out.” Not everything gets measured, and not everything here can be taken literally, I don’t think. I will point this out as we go through the text. This passage focuses on the idea of what it will take to be faithful witnesses of Yahweh in the time of Jacob’s Trouble, the most intense persecution of God’s people that has ever been or ever will be. They will need the Holy Spirit to stand faithfully in that day. Let’s just jump right in.

KV1: Tribulation Worship

1: Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.

The focus begins right at the start in my thinking. See how our Key Verse ends the imperative to measure the temple (ναὸν, a form of ναὸς, meaning temple)–“…and those who worship in it.” The point here is not the temple measurements as we will see.

At this point, we are in between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgements, well into the Great Tribulation when this is revealed. What is coming after this will be the worst tribulation in the history of Earth. However, even at this point, there will still be worshippers of Yahweh on Earth, and they will exist in part because of the two men we will speak of later in this study. They will be given special powers and the authority to use them as often as they see fit, and according to some, may reveal their identities, and we will speak about that as well. Let’s jump in here.

1-2: The Tribulation Temple

This is a unique look at the rebuilt temple in the Tribulation period. It will have measurements, dimensions, and meanings, like that. Think of what this would mean for Israel to attempt this rebuilding now, though. The generally accepted location for this temple is currently the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and is considered by all Muslims to be the third-most holy site of Islam. To rebuild the Jewish Temple might mean the destruction of said mosque. This would result in all-out Jihad on the part of the Muslims, who are none too friendly toward the Jews, to begin with. There is a line of thought (and I do not know how seriously to take it before you ask) that suggests that this might be at least part of what triggers the need for a peace treaty between Israel and the rest of the world. I don’t really know, so as always, when we need clarity, we turn to the Scriptures!

1: Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.

The measuring rod, according to several commentators, was a type of reed that grew in the Jordan Valley that could be cut into 10-15 foot lengths and used like a staff (ῥάβδῳ [rábdō]). This staff was sturdy and could even be used as a kind of walking stick. These cut rods were commonly cut to a standard length for just such purposes as measurement.
John is then given the command to measure the temple and altar and all the people who worship within their area. However, I do not think the measurements of this future building are the point of this paragraph, because we do not read those measurements anywhere. Because these measurements are NOT given, doesn’t it make you ask where they are and why they aren’t here? It does for me. The size of the complex cannot be the point of the passage, so it must be something else. What else is here? Those who worship in it. John may well have measured that building, but he never wrote it down. Last Sunday, I preached about the Church, and in that sermon, I said that the church is not the building, but rather is the people that meet to worship God in the building, or cellar, or open field, or forest clearing, so long as there is more than one person gathered to worship Christ the King. That’s what I think this is speaking of here.
The older I get, the more I realize that many people study all the little details and strain for meaning in all the details. I’m not suggesting that is bad or wrong, but I think it is over-emphasized. Who really cares that the Greek word for “me” is “μοι?” It’s good to know, but it doesn’t always affect the passage or meaning. I am beginning to see that we need to make the main point the main point. If we fail there, we will never truly understand the text. The main point here is the people who will worship the Lord in that time in that place. Why do I think that? Because the measurements of the temple are never given anywhere in terms of this temple. That means it is not the building that is important. It is the people and the events that will take place there. Moving on.

2: Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.

Here’s the “what to leave out” section. The court outside the temple was not to be measured, because it was given to the “nations.” The emphasis here, like in much of the Old Testament, is on “unbelieving” nations, in my opinion. Compare Psalm 2:1-3. That reads, “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!'” Why? Measuring is a form of close observation for the purpose of learning and detailing knowledge. Nobody needs to observe the sinners that are around at that time, especially after that “mark” is implemented. That’s coming in 13:16, by the way, if you want to read ahead. Moreover, see the response of God to those sinners from the nations in Psalm 2:4-6: “He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.'” For these nations, it will not end well, and ultimately, all will be submitted to His King upon Zion, and we know who that is! He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World, none other than the Lion of Judah, our Lord Jesus Christ!
These will tread the holy city (Jerusalem) underfoot for a very specific amount of time: 42 months. That’s what it says in the Greek: μῆνας τεσσαράκοντα καὶ δύο. Literally, “months forty and two.” Remember that number, we will be doing a little math with that in a moment or so. We have a slide. By the way, this math uses the kind of math that works with the original Jewish SOLAR calendar, not the revised lunar calendar that threw off all the calculations and is why they don’t make sense. You can get this online at https://dsscalendar.org/ by Dr. Ken Johnson, the guy who has translated many of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This calendar came out of that. It is well worth the time, and there is a downloadable copy. I don’t know if there is a charge. I do know there is a wall calendar version that you can buy from them, but I don’t have pricing. Apparently, it’s all on the site. You can find a link to that site in the video description below. I don’t think it really means a lot where this passage is concerned, that’s a handful on purpose. I do think it is a nod at the original God-given calendar still being used to count time in Heaven.

All that said, we must remember this is not about tiny details, it is about the main thing here, which is those who will be faithful worshippers during this time of Jacob’s Trouble. Great fortitude will be required as the world turns further and further into hate for God and towards the Antichrist, that man of sin foretold for a very long time now.

3-4: The Two Witnesses

Over time, a debate has evolved about the identity of who these two men are. Some have said, based on the powers that these men manifest that this is Moses and Elijah, and citing as further proof, the events on the Mount of Transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appear, referring this to some kind of staff meeting. Others have suggested that this would be Enoch and Elijah, because those are the only two men in history that never died, and it is given to man once to die and then judgement. The powers are irrelevant to the identity of who the two witnesses are in this camp.

I know this is an overly simplified way of presenting those thought lines, but it is essentially correct for the sake of time. What I think is more correct is that these will be two men who will have the (Holy) Spirit and power of Moses and Elijah. It might even be Moses or Enoch and Elijah, though it does not have to be. The reason I do not think it will be is that John the Baptist was said to be Elijah by the Lord Jesus. Matthew 11:14 says, “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” Now, either there is some nefarious shuffling of bodies with spirits or the Lord Jesus is saying that John the Baptist represented Elijah in spirit and authority. I find the latter easier to understand and explain. You can accuse me of using Occam’s Razor as a test here. The simplest explanation is most frequently the right one. I had to say something about who these men are because they are key figures in the tribulation period. Let’s jump in here.

3: And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

The very first thing I have to mention is that the word “authority” does not occur in the Greek text. This is an attempt by the translators to provide clarity, but it may be misplaced. We could replace that word with “permission” for example and change the meaning slightly. I would argue for a translation that will not add or change meaning. That would sound something like, “And I will grant to my two witnesses that they will prophesy for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth.” I don’t think it is outside the translation matrix. I took the time to compare several versions, and the Holman Christian Standard Version (almost as good as the NASB and better than even the ESV that I like) says, “I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” It is fairly close. The word for “grant” in Greek is δώσω, a form of δίδωμι, and can mean give, but it can also mean “offer” or “bestow.” From the word order in Greek, it could be saying that He will give two men to His witnesses, although I think other issues would indicate against that.
What is not in doubt is that these men will actually prophesy. I’m not talking about the morons from Bethel or Hillsong or any of the cadre of Charismaniacs that call themselves “prophets” among other false and inflated titles. They will actually speak the words of coming judgement to sinful man so that man may stop his own mad career and turn to the one true and living God, which is the purpose of prophecy, to bring an awareness of coming judgement for sin so they may repent. The Bible tells us that these two men will do so for 1260 days. Again, there is an actual count of days, so hold onto that number, we are not done with number references. There is another reference coming up that says 3 and one-half years. Here is the math on that. [show slide]

4: These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

Here, the Scriptures define who these individuals are. Over the years, I have heard several ways to interpret this, some compelling and some out there about the orbit of Neptune. One of those would be that the two olive trees represent the Jews and the Gentiles who believe together in the Tribulation. It is saying that this is two men a verse earlier, and you have to do some major ignoring of that to get to that conclusion. I’ll try to stick to historical explanations for this.
So why olive trees? Or why lampstands? For this, we should look at Zechariah 4:1-10 to start. It begins with a view of the lampstand parts.

Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

The angel begins here to explain some meaning to these things. Zechariah clearly did not know what he was looking at, so the angel clarified. He says, Not by might (strength) or by power (authority, hence my earlier reasoning), but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Armies (Heb. Yahweh Sabaoth). We have seen this seven-flamed representation of a lampstand before, also! Revelation 4:5 says, “Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God…” That was, you will recall, a representation of the Holy Spirit as seven lampstands. These have also extended their meaning to the testimonies of Christ within the churches, as seen in Revelation Chapter 1. Whatever these men are, they are empowered by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, God Himself. And there is more in Zech. 4:11-14, which reads:

Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”

This is a direct reference to these two men in the Old Testament from that description. The following verses in Zechariah 5 detail some of what we read here, and other things as well, that for the sake of time, we will not look at this evening. What we can glean from this is that these are the two men who will witness for the Lord in those days of Tribulation, men in the Spirit and power of Moses and Elijah, and they will stand as witnesses to the glory of God Himself and warn of the coming judgement, dressed in the traditional garb of the prophet of doom, sackcloth. I bet there will be ashes as well.

These two men will be at the door of the Naos, in other words, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies where God has His seat on Earth. They will preach there to turn men to Christ, and if they cover their ears and turn away from the truth, then God gives them some powers and abilities to use against that. Next paragraph.

5-6: The Authority of the Two Witnesses

I haven’t said it to this point, but I will here, because of how these men will be treated. The word for witness is the Greek word martus, where we get our English word Martyr. Both of these men have that kind of witness coming up: It is better to die than to submit to the world system, especially the world system of the Beast. We’ll say more about that in future studies. For now, let’s look at the powers that these two men will exercise.

5: And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.

Really, is this such a surprise? It says in Heb. 12:29 that “…our God is a consuming fire.” Fire flows out of their mouths to devour (consume) enemies of them and therefore God. Anyone that even WANTS to harm them, if they are in range have but one sentence–death in this manner. I can say Amen here, but I’m thinking “Ouch.”
Look, men and women have a choice, and right now, that choice is being offered from the loving hand of a God who personifies love. However, that choice will clearly not always be available to men. It will not be here. Listen to the words of perhaps the greatest theologian of all time: “As he had before kindly set before us the grace of God, so he now makes known his severity; and he seems to have borrowed this sentence from the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy. Thus we see that God omits nothing by which he may draw us to himself; he begins indeed with love and kindness, so that we may follow him the more willingly; but when by alluring he effects but little, he terrifies us. And doubtless it is expedient that the grace of God should never be promised to us without being accompanied with threatening; for we are so extremely prone to indulge ourselves, that without the application of these stimulants the milder doctrine would prove ineffectual. Then the Lord, as he is propitious and merciful to such as fear him unto a thousand generations; so he is a jealous God and a just avenger, when despised, unto the third and the fourth generation.” That’s John Calvin, ladies and gentlemen. That’s what HE had to say about Hebrews 12:29. I cannot say less. In fact, I echo the words of the Weeping Prophet Jeremiah in Jer. 27:13-15 when He warned the Israelites to submit to the rule of Babylon, “‘Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the LORD has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, “You will not serve the king of Babylon,” for they prophesy a lie to you; for I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD, ‘but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.'” Beloved, wrath is coming! There is still time to turn from all of your sins! Repent! He loves you enough to die to pay the penalty for YOUR sins! Turn and be saved? Why will you die?

In that coming day of judgement and wrath, it will be different. The time will be past for the easy road of resurrection and rapture. Then will be the time of renouncing and martyrdom. You will turn, but you will likely die for your decision. And it will STILL be worth it. Just…turn. Or if you don’t want to turn, don’t. But it will get worse from here…You’ll see, to your everlasting sorrow.

6: These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

Going back to the powers that these men will display, we can see the shutting off of the rain, performed by Elijah in 1 Kings 17, and then reversed in 1 Kings 18. Then we see the turning water into blood and the smiting of the whole Earth with any plague, and at will, like Moses. It does not say that each man will have those abilities in turn as Moses and Elijah did. It implies instead that they will both have all of that ability. It really doesn’t matter if these men are Old Testament saints or not. God can use anyone He sees fit, up to and including Moses and/or Elijah. Does it really matter who these men will be? Not at all. What matters is that they can do it as often as they see fit.

May God have real mercy on all those who will face these individuals. If you should meet them, turn from your sin. Your life is a small price to pay in comparison to an eternity in a burning hell.

That’s what I saw in the text.

This is where I have to make a request of you all. I will continue these studies, but I need some time off because of other non-local activities that the Lord has me involved in. The details will probably come out later, but some of it is kind of sensitive at this point and I would rather honour confidentiality and not talk about it at the moment. Change may be coming for me personally, but it isn’t a bad change, it’s just a lot of work. I will take next week off and possibly the one after that. I’m hoping not, but I have to play this by ear.

Anyway, next time we do get to meet, I think we will be able to handle the larger amount of text of 11:7-14, right to the end of the second woe.