First of all, we have seen the disasters that began with the sixth trumpet from the scriptures, and we have seen that the four messengers who were bound were released for this purpose. The purpose of these disasters was to give people a chance to repent, hoping that the rest of the people would repent. Second, we talked about the seven peals of thunder with hidden messages. Also the messages in the sixth trumpet include the little book. From the consistency of the Bible, we can see from what happened in the Old Testament that the little book is talking about the encounter of the church. The victory of the church happens in the end and will be as sweet as honey, but the process will be as difficult as making your stomach ache! Third, we see the church being trampled upon, and the actions and ending of the two witnesses. From the verses about the ending of the two witnesses, we see that spiritual interpretation of the Bible is sometimes necessary. These two were resurrected three and a half days after their death, showing the fact that they came from God. Seeing what happened, the rest, survived the disasters brought about by the resurrection, then glorified God.
1. The disaster that begins with the sixth trumpet
”Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind. The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do harm. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”(Revelation 9:13-21) God said Himself, “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of war and battle?”(Job 38:22-23)
So don’t be surprised that God allowed these four bound messengers to be released at a fixed time. They were prepared for that. As for the disasters they brought, the scriptures are very clear, so I won’t repeat them. The main thing is that even though so many people died in these disasters, the rest still hardened their hearts and did not repent.
The purpose of these disasters is that God is merciful and gracious, giving people opportunities to repent. This is God’s nature. Just as the scripture says, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) But “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.”(Psalm 89:14) Just “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”(John 3:16) But God will not be without justice. The Bible makes it very clear, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”(John 3:18) When the remaining people do not repent, they will experience other woes to come. We must once again emphasize the importance of repentance. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9) This only talks about regret, and true “regret” will definitely bring about “change” actions, so “repentance” is always mentioned these two together.
2. Seven peals of thunder and little scroll in the sixth trumpet
“I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.””(Revelation 10:1-4)
First of all, we see that the description of the powerful angels from God is quite full of heavenly glory, and the Trinity God is even more glorious. We have already shared that we see John’s obedience in the event of the seven peals of thunder, so we won’t go into more details. Now let’s look at the little unfolded book mentioned in the sixth trumpet.
“Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.””(Revelation 10:5-11)
First of all, we notice that in the human world, “For men swear by one greater than themselves, …”(Hebrews 6:16) This means that it is the same in heaven, so the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land is swearing to God. Please note that the voice I heard before did not come from the angel standing on the sea and the earth. Paying attention to the details when reading the Bible will help us avoid making mistakes that we don’t even know about. Maybe I should give an example like this, and let’s talk about it later! It’s just a reminder that the details can be helpful.
We also saw that when the seventh trumpet would sound in the future, it would be a bad voice to the unbelief, but still a good voice to the prophets, and we are still in sixth trumpet period regarding the little book. Speaking of eating the little scroll, there is a feeling as sweet as honey in the mouth. This description “sweet as honey” only appears twice in the Union Version of the Bible, once in the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament, and the other time right here. Let’s look at the Old Testament so that one can know what it means in the New Testament. Why do you say this? Because both the Old Testament and the New Testament have the same God, the principles of doing things are the same.
Let’s look at these verses first, “Then He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.”(Ezekiel 3:1-3) The book of Romans makes it very clear about the outcome of the Israelites, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.””(Romans 11:25-27) How can the outcome of such salvation not be a feeling as sweet as honey in the mouth?
Let’s now look at what is written in the little scroll? “Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.”(Ezekiel 2:9-10) So he can understand that this process is difficult. This is confirmed by these verses, “Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely. Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’””(Ezekiel 3:10-11) No matter what, he had to preach. Isn’t this similar to what the book of Revelation says, “After eating, my stomach felt bitter”? And we know that the book of Revelation is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John”(Revelation 1:1) Because the revelation is for the servants, this is about what the church encounters. The church will eventually win as sweet as honey, but the process will be as difficult as making the stomach feel bitter! Isn’t it like Ezekiel who wanted to prophesy to the house of Israel after eating the little scroll? Isn’t this the fact that the Old and New Testaments we just shared are all one God, so they would be consistent.
3. The church was trampled on and the actions and ending of the two witnesses
Then he also talked about the church, “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. 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. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 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. 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.”(Revelation 11:1-6)
Everyone in the church who worships in the temple of God should be measured with the measuring rod. Those who belong to the temple and altar of God will be protected by God in His own way. This does not mean that these people will not encounter suffering, but “…In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) We have shared before that God’s view of death and man’s view of death are completely different. Those who are martyred for the Lord will have eternal happiness. There is no need to measure the courtyard outside the temple. Those who do not want to take the path of sanctification will fall into the hands of their unbelieving foreign masters for forty-two months. If we count thirty days per month, forty-two months are one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Therefore, during that period, God was still gracious and merciful and sent two witnesses before God to preach. It seems that these two people have the authority to do things that may not seem good in the eyes of humans, but from God’s perspective, they are good things to give people a chance. Once again, I saw how different the viewpoints are from a human perspective and from a God’s perspective. God looks at the heart, not the appearance, so “Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.”(Proverbs 4:23) We should really believe that the Bible is inspired by God and learn to see things from God’s perspective, not just talk!
“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically (G4153) is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”(Revelation 11:7-14)
That great city should refer to Jerusalem on earth, because it is the place where the Lord was crucified. And God also allowed that the beast from the bottomless pit could prevail after they had given their testimony. On the one hand, the two of them had fulfilled their functions. On the other hand, if God allowed them to continue to prevail, how could it “…make the enemy and the revengeful cease.”(Psalm 8:2) Isn’t He do this elsewhere? For example, “It was also given to him (the beast with ten horns and seven heads) to make war with the saints and to overcome them, …”(Revelation 13:7) From many things that have happened, we have seen that “…Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”(Revelation 13:10) Indeed, ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”(Isaiah 55:8-9) God is infinite and man is limited. There are so many things that we cannot even imagine! We know that everything that happens is under God’s control.
It is clearly stated here that we sometimes need to interpret the Bible spiritually, so it is said that “…the great city, which spiritually (G4153) is called Sodom and Egypt, …”(Revelation 11:8, KJV) The word G4153 appears only two time. If one has question about its meaning, it is clearly said in other verse, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually (G4153) appraised.”(1 Corinthians 2:14)
This is consistent with what this scripture says, which interprets the Bible spiritually, “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.”(Galatians 4:22-26)
In the end, three and a half days after the death of these two witnesses, God resurrected them and returned to heaven. It was only half a day longer than Jesus’ death and resurrection, and they also ascended on the clouds like Jesus. Their resurrection was with the calamity that was happening at that time, making the rest of the surviving people fearful, knowing that they came from God, glorifying the God of heaven. Hopefully, they would repent because of this. But humans have free will, which allow them to choose if they will believe in God and the fact that they have free will cannot be changed.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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