Witness to the End Part 2

ReCAST Church of Mattawan iconReCAST Church of Mattawan

0 views

Don Filcek; Revelation 11 Witness to the End Part 2

0 comments

00:11
You're listening to the podcast of the Recast Church in Matawan, Michigan. This week,
00:16
Pastor Don Filsex preaches through his series, Thy Kingdom Come, taking us through the book of Revelation.
00:22
Let's listen in. I want to let everyone know just one quick announcement and kind of catch you up to speed a little bit on where we're at on the building stuff that we voted on a couple of weeks ago, a few weeks ago.
00:35
I want to let everybody know that we have a pre -purchase agreement signed by the owner of the new property.
00:40
So, he has said yes, he likes the price that we have offered. He also agrees to not sell it to anybody else while we work on the paperwork of getting an official everything lined up and all of that.
00:54
A couple of the things that we are waiting on that could be points for your prayer is that we are awaiting a land survey, an environmental study, and village approval, and they kind of go in that order.
01:05
And those are kind of the technical details, but all of those are, the purchase is contingent on that. That's why we didn't just go out and buy it, is it probably wouldn't be very wise for us to buy property without knowing for sure we can build a church on it.
01:17
And so, we're doing all of our due diligence and making sure beforehand that that works out. So, I would encourage you to be praying towards that end.
01:25
And then also, we've entered the blueprinting phase with Zion Church Builders. They've been getting us a more refined estimate, so they've been pulling all of that together and ultimately working towards getting us an estimate for the elders approval that then we would bring to the congregation.
01:41
And one of the reasons I'm giving this announcement up front is I recognize that there can be in a church our size a little bit of a grapevine.
01:48
And I've heard some people say, are we building? Have we broken ground? Is there, you know, do we take out a loan?
01:53
What's the, you know, and so I just, everybody take a chill pill for just a second. We haven't broken ground, and you are going to know about every step of the way in this process.
02:02
And so, really the next major step is going to be for us to get a more refined estimate from the builders.
02:10
We're working on loan offers from various lending institutions, and then we will be bringing those to the congregation for approval and for the vote.
02:18
So, we will not break ground before you have approved of the building and we will not take out a loan before you've approved of a loan and all of those things.
02:27
And so, just rest assured that you're going to know, and we're going to make sure that we amply communicate in multiple avenues and multiple ways so that you don't get lost through the cracks and all of that.
02:39
And so, I encourage you that we are moving in that direction, though. Please direct any questions.
02:44
You can direct questions to Bruce French. You want to raise your hand back there, Bruce? Bruce is heading up our construction advisory team, who is a group of people from the church who have just offered their services and their willing hearts to help adjust floor plans and do a variety of different things and kind of help us out with that and really assist the elders.
03:02
So, he's heading that up. You can ask me. You can ask any of the elders. And if we don't have the answer, then we'll just probably direct you to Bruce on that.
03:09
And then he'll just kind of have to wing it. So, but that's kind of where we're at. This building that we're in right now,
03:15
I am very grateful for this. Are you guys thankful that we've had a facility to meet in? I'm just very grateful for the schools allowing us the usage of this facility.
03:25
Obviously, we rent it, but it's a very minimal cost to us. So, we're very blessed. And this has been a significant saving time for us.
03:32
And so, I'm grateful for that. But hopefully, you also recognize that this facility has some limitations. Kind of looks like a cafeteria.
03:39
You know what I'm saying? I mean, you kind of got the vegetable thing going on the wall. And why Wildcats Eat Smart is kind of like the motivating thing on the wall, you know?
03:48
Or if you were another person, would you like to be a friend of yours? You know, I mean, you've got these really motivational things.
03:53
But it's obviously a limited facility. And so, I am looking forward to God opening that door for us to have a facility of our own.
04:01
And I believe that that seems to be the direction that God is guiding us. And so, I look forward to the next year.
04:06
And hopefully, before the end of the summer, we will have that vote to you. You'll actually be voting on the breaking ground and taking out a loan and moving forward with the building by the end of summer.
04:18
So, that's kind of the timeline on that. Pray for wisdom. Pray for finances.
04:23
And pray for a continued focus of outreach on our community. And that's really what this text is about this morning.
04:29
As we're going and marching through the book of Revelation. Is one more time just kind of thinking about being a witness to the very end.
04:36
Recognizing that our time is short. And so, what does it mean to be witnesses for Christ in this world? It's very easy for a church.
04:42
I would suggest to you that building is a dangerous time for a church. Building is a time where it becomes very easy for us to turn apathetic towards our culture.
04:52
And very inwardly focused and intentionally kind of about us. And I'm praying against that.
04:59
I'm praying that God would defeat apathy in us towards outreach and towards our love for our community. And instead, that it would be the exact opposite.
05:06
That as we build a building, we would recognize it's not for us, but it's for the service of our community. And that God's kingdom might be established and grow and increase and be a blessing to our community around us.
05:16
So, be praying to that end as well. This morning we're going to be digging back into the book of Revelation. We're walking through that chapter by chapter, verse by verse.
05:24
I like walking through the Bible this way in that you don't have to hear my soapbox.
05:31
You don't have to hear what I want to tell you every week because it would get kind of redundant. It would be the same message every week.
05:36
Maybe a little bit different spin on it or something like that. But instead, we just go through the books of the Bible and we take it as it comes at us.
05:43
And I'm going to give you what God's word says. And that's my goal this morning. And we're going to encounter another text that's hotly debated by scholars.
05:51
Not a passage. If I had a one -off sermon, if I had one to preach this year, I probably wouldn't select
05:57
Revelation chapter 11 as the one that I was just like, man, God has just laid this burden of these two witnesses on my heart.
06:04
And man, we're going to go. But at the same time, God's word and powerful and able to transform us and change us because it is indeed what he has revealed to us.
06:13
If we don't accurately identify the symbolism when we find it in the book of Revelation, if we're not getting it right, then we're going to get lost in a hurry.
06:23
Have you identified that? Who here in the room has ever been lost in the book of Revelation? Kind of went down a pathway and you were like,
06:29
I don't know where to go from here. I'm kind of out in the weeds. And that's very easy for us to do.
06:35
In our text this morning, we could easily get lost if we just picked up our Bibles and read Revelation chapter 11 with no context, with no understanding, without really studying it, but just sit down and read it.
06:46
It would probably be quite confusing to most of us. But context is going to help us to understand this chapter. Remember that what we read last week in chapter 10 and now this week in chapter 11 is an interlude.
06:57
It's set in the context of the seven trumpets of judgment that were given to seven angels who at the end times are going to blow those trumpets and at the blowing of each trumpet comes tragedy and devastation and woe and destruction and judgment, all with the purpose of calling people to repentance, to turn away from their ways and to turn to God for and to run to him for salvation.
07:19
And that's the point of these seven trumpets. And we find that chapters 10 and 11 are an interlude in the middle of that.
07:25
And there's consistency between last week's message and this week's message. So much so that I'm calling this part two, witness to the end.
07:32
Last week, witness to the end, part two. To be honest, the only reason I didn't cover them in one message is we would have been here until 2 o 'clock in the afternoon last week.
07:40
So it was duration more than content. It's very, very similar in what the two chapters say, chapter 10 and chapter 11.
07:50
But last week the structure was a vision where John was warned that a day is coming when there will be no more delay.
07:56
He was told there's going to be a time. He was given this vision of an angel who says there is no more delay. The end has come.
08:03
Therefore, he was then given a commission to go out and share the good news and the gospel with the world around him.
08:08
Given a commission that was both bitter and sweet, the message of judgment and the message of how to be saved from that judgment.
08:18
This week we get those modeled for us in reverse. So last week it was the end is coming.
08:25
Therefore, go out and share the gospel. Now we see it modeled in an exemplary way by two witnesses who are going to witness about judgment and witness about salvation in Christ and then the end comes.
08:39
So we just get it flipped around and it's still basically the same idea, but we're going to see some creative ways that that's brought to us through the vision of John.
08:48
You could spend a week reading and studying to figure out who exactly these two witnesses are in our text.
08:53
Any of you ever heard preachers preach on this or read something or heard a radio show about this who told you who the two witnesses are?
09:01
You could read and study, and trust me, I know because I did it this week, and you probably wouldn't get very far.
09:08
You'd get plenty of words in. You'd have plenty of material to read about who people think these two witnesses are, but I would suggest to you that you probably wouldn't feel like wherever you landed, you landed on very solid ground.
09:22
But the reality is whoever these guys are or whoever they represent or whatever they represent, they demonstrate for all the church what it means to testify of Jesus in a fallen world.
09:33
They're exemplary for us. They're models for us, and we can kind of learn how to witness and what our witness ought to look like, what it ought to look like to testify of the judgment that is coming and then the salvation that is provided through Jesus through them.
09:48
They are faithful witnesses for us, and they are used by God. They are protected as long as is necessary, and yet they still die, but they are raised to new life, and they are a model for us of witnesses to the very end.
10:02
So turn in your Bibles if you're not already there to Revelation 11. We are going to read this in its entirety, a bit of a longer chunk of Scripture, and yet I'm confident that sometimes just the reading of it is the power of it.
10:13
So let's read Revelation 11. If you don't have a Bible on your lap, could you do me a favor and just raise your hand?
10:19
Mike is back here. He's got Bibles. The only reason you would raise your hand is to get one, and so he just has those there.
10:25
And then you can take that home with you if you want to. We want everybody to have a copy of God's Word, but this way you've got one that you can just check out and read.
10:35
Revelation 11, way at the back of the Bible, and again this is God's Word to us recast.
10:42
This is what God desires for us to hear this morning. Then I was given, remember this is the
10:47
Apostle John speaking, then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple.
10:59
Leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.
11:05
And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1 ,260 days clothed in sackcloth.
11:12
These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the lords of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours out from their mouth and consumes their foes.
11:20
If any would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have the power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they desire.
11:38
And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them.
11:45
And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom in Egypt, where the
11:52
Lord was crucified. For three and a half days, some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb.
12:02
And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
12:12
But after three and a half days, a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12:21
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here! And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
12:30
And at 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
12:39
God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is soon to come. And the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying,
12:50
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.
12:57
And the twenty -four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying,
13:02
We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
13:10
The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for the rewarding of your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.
13:26
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
13:38
Let's pray as the band comes to lead us in worship this morning. Father, I pray that in your power and in your might, you would defeat the apathy that grows in each one of us towards those who do not know you.
14:03
We can get so caught up in our own lives, we get so caught up in our days, and our routines, and our struggles, and our strife, and our blessings, and our promotions, and all the different things, the good and the bad swirl around us to create.
14:18
Some of us confusion, and some of us apathy, and some of us even cynicism, and some of us impatience.
14:27
But Father, there are so many things that might war, maybe even fear, that might war with our testimony, with our witness of you, and yet Father, there's just such a reality in the book of Revelation that just confronts us at every turn that the end indeed is coming.
14:41
Whether that's through death for us, or through your return, either way, our time is short, and our mission and our commission is clear to testify of the glory of our
14:54
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father, would you motivate us this morning, not just inform us.
15:00
Don't just give us more information about chapter 11. Father, motivate us to see your kingdom expanded here in our midst because of your great calling on our lives.
15:14
Give us boldness through the testimony of these two witnesses, in Jesus' name. Amen. Well again, thanks to Dave and the band for leading us.
15:24
I'm really grateful for the work that they do for us, and I just really like how the songs connect often with the message, and he works hard at that, so I appreciate that.
15:33
Be sure to keep your Bibles open to Revelation chapter 11, so that you can see that the things that we're talking about are coming from the page of the scripture.
15:40
I'm going to be referencing it a lot this morning, and so that you can just look down and see the verse that we're on, and kind of where we're going, and what all is happening there.
15:48
And remember that just to get comfortable, you can get up and get more coffee, or juice, or donuts, or whatever, as long as there's some left there.
15:56
And whatever it takes to keep our focus on God's word, I hope that you're attentive to the word, not necessarily attentive to me, but attentive to what
16:04
God wants to say to you this morning through the pages of his word. And so we'll start right off in verses one and two.
16:11
They really are, these first couple verses, are really just setting the stage for the events that follow.
16:18
And so they can be a little bit confusing. There's this measuring that's going on there. John is given a measuring rod like a staff, one that would have been commonly used during his era and his time, a reed that would be cut off and easily broken at different lengths so that if you wanted to measure a piece of wood, you would just take the reed, set it, cut it, and then you'd be able to have a consistent measuring point from there.
16:39
So it's not that this is a meter stick, or a yard stick, or a ruler, or something like that that's a set measurement, but it could be broken off at various measurements and just kept to be consistent.
16:49
That's the nature of what he has given there. And so all of this is setting a stage in verses one and two, and really we're seeing a three and a half year period of time that's coming when the nations will overrun the holy city.
17:01
Now you are meant to be thinking, what city comes to your mind when you think of the holy city? It's probably the one that you should be thinking of.
17:08
It should be Jerusalem, and it's gonna be more clearly identified later in verse eight as the city where our
17:14
Lord was crucified. So where was Christ crucified? Jerusalem, so we know what city he's referencing here at the start.
17:23
And there's coming a time, a three and a half year period of time when the nations will indeed overrun the holy city.
17:30
But John was first given a task to measure the temple there in that city, the altar, the temple, and the people who worship there.
17:38
So just the fact that he's told to measure these places, and then he's told to measure the people too, kinda gives you some indication that there might be some figurative language here.
17:47
Don't lose sight of how figurative this literary style is when we're talking about an apocalypse, when we're talking about this particular structure or type of writing.
17:57
Like we text different than we write email, than we write a hand letter, than we write a document for our work.
18:04
And so we recognize that we use different types of language, different types of words to communicate, and even different structures too, a letter versus a research assignment that you have or something like that.
18:16
So this is very, very figurative in its nature and its style. And so what does it mean to be measured might be something different than just measuring a simple temple.
18:26
I do not believe that we're looking at a literal temple. Instead, I believe it's the imagery of a measured consideration of the people of God during the
18:35
Great Tribulation that's being measured here. We could talk in terms of measuring the church. Think of it like this.
18:41
If somebody asks you, how big is your church, do you give them the square foot of our meeting space? Probably not so much.
18:48
What are you usually gonna say if somebody asks you how large your church is? Well, you're probably more likely prone to talk about how many people attended, right?
18:56
And I think that's very similar to what we're looking at here because we're talking about the people of God and they really are the focus.
19:05
Here in our text, John is instructed to measure the inner place of worship, but not to measure the outer court of the
19:15
Gentiles. Remember that so far the text has given us a decent level of indication that the church has been raptured to heaven.
19:23
We saw earlier in the book of Revelation a great multitude around the throne that nobody could count with white robes and palm branches in their hands singing the praises of God around his throne.
19:33
And they're doing that up there while all of these things that we're reading about here are going on down on earth.
19:41
But God doesn't leave the earth without a witness just because he's taken the church home to be with him.
19:47
As a matter of fact, we saw that he sent an angel who placed his seal on the forehead of 144 ,000 former
19:54
Jews who have come to understand and recognize during that great tribulation that Jesus Christ is
20:00
Messiah, they've given their lives over to him and they are his witnesses, 144 ,000 during that time.
20:05
Now I believe that John's vision is referring to these sealed believers who are alive during the tribulation and measuring is a way of drawing out the lines of protection for those who are his during this time.
20:16
These worshipers of God from a Jewish background are therefore being indicated in the setting and setting the ground rules for this.
20:25
They are protected, but those outside are not. And the setting of chapter 11 starts off with Jerusalem in turmoil and beset by other nations.
20:36
And for a final three and a half years of the history of the kingdoms of this world, there will be hostility, there will be war, there will be violence, and particularly the city of Jerusalem will be embroiled in turmoil, but those who
20:49
God measures out will not be trampled by the nations, but they'll be protected.
20:56
Now we come to these two witnesses. And what I'm gonna say next, I mean sincerely,
21:02
I believe that we could take up the rest of our time this morning talking about who these two witnesses might be.
21:09
I've done the research, I've done a lot of reading, I've done a lot of work, and there are, are you ready for it? There are 17 primary interpretations of who these two might be.
21:21
And then you talk about combinations of those two, well maybe they're this and this, or all different kinds of, and those are the primary ones that I read through and worked through this week.
21:31
And so we can talk in terms of there just being a lot of different notions about who are, have you ever been confused about who these two witnesses are?
21:40
Have you ever read this passage before? I mean if you've read it, you probably went, I don't know, I mean, or maybe you kind of had somebody tell you who they are and so you felt pretty confident about that, but there's a lot of different thoughts about who these might be.
21:53
Some are gonna go on to the literal, these are two guys that are gonna appear in the end times. Some people are figurative, some people think this has already taken place and it's in the past, so some people will say, we're talking about Peter and Paul here.
22:05
This is a past event that John is seeing a vision of something that's already occurred, and so Peter and Paul were the two witnesses.
22:11
Some would go a little bit more figurative on that. They'd say, yeah, these are the Old and New Testaments.
22:16
Clearly, can't you see that? This is the Old and the New Testament bearing witness to the salvation of Christ.
22:23
Some say it's a backwards glance. This is a little bit more nuanced. The rebel bull and Joshua the high priest during the life of Zechariah because Zechariah talks about the two olive trees that are mentioned in verse four here in our text.
22:37
Some say this is two of the churches from the beginning of Revelation. The two churches from the beginning of Revelation because they were called lampstands.
22:45
Do you remember that from the beginning sermons of this entire series from chapters one through three? There were letters given to the seven churches and each one of those churches was called a lampstand, and so these two witnesses are called lampstands, so maybe they're two of the seven churches, some people would say.
23:04
Some say, maybe more familiar to you, some say that that's Moses and Elijah. Any of you ever heard that one?
23:09
So maybe we're getting into more familiar territory. Why would it be Moses and Elijah? Well, because of the miracles that they perform.
23:15
They're able to turn the water into blood. Who does that make you think of? Who was able to do that? Moses. Who was able to bring fire down from heaven or close up the clouds so no rain came down on the earth?
23:26
Elijah. So people will go there with it. Some say Enoch and Elijah. Any of you heard that one?
23:32
Enoch and Elijah. Well, why? Because Enoch and Elijah never died. They have to die, right? Because they've never died. And so they are thought to be coming back to give a final witness before and then die and then be raised again.
23:45
Some believe the two are not even literal people, but stand for a group of people like the 144 ,000 witnesses during the
23:51
Great Tribulation. Many believe that this is just a figure of speech for the entire church.
23:58
So I've given you a sampling. We didn't cover all 17 primary there, okay? I've given you a sampling and you probably aren't really hungry for more at this point.
24:07
But there's a lot of different thoughts out there. And then there are people like me who have no problem combining a couple of these ideas while trying to keep our attention on the main point.
24:17
And I've mentioned this all throughout the series that I think we can get so caught up in the nuances that we can cease to learn, but instead just kind of try to get the information and try to be, you know, what's the word where you're, investigators where we're just trying to figure out the little nuances of things and miss the main point.
24:36
I believe that these two are quite likely two individuals. I believe that there's a good chance that these are gonna be literal people who show up at the end of time, literal two guys.
24:48
But even if I'm wrong about that, what I think is a most solid understanding of this text is that these two are raised up for us, whoever they are, to be examples to us in their witness.
25:04
The way that they witness matters. And they are examples for you and I to follow.
25:10
Why are we reading about these two guys who are gonna show up at the end time? Because they are a model and an example for the way that you and I ought to witness.
25:18
Just like they know the end is coming, we ought to equally know that the end is coming and move and live in a way just very similar to them.
25:29
They demonstrate for us what it means to be a witness to the end. So hear me carefully.
25:35
We do not need to know exactly who they are in order to learn from them.
25:41
Do you agree with me on that? So we can get that out of the way. We don't need to know who they are. You can guess.
25:47
I mean, if that's your thing, if that's your gig, or if you wanna just go with the Left Behind series and what they say about it, or you wanna kinda just have at it, that's great and that's fine, but don't miss the point.
25:57
Don't do that at the exclusion of learning from them. Okay? The reason this account is given and recorded in the first place is so that you and I would receive motivation, not merely information.
26:13
And a lot of times we take the low road of information at the exclusion of being motivated and moved in our spirits.
26:21
Last week the text told us the end is coming. So get busy witnessing and testifying to the good news of salvation in Christ before you run out of time.
26:30
Before you run out of time. Any of you know that the clock is ticking? Have you identified that in your own life? The clock is ticking and there's only so much time to do the things that you wanna do, but what about the things that you're called to do?
26:41
Put those in, do you put that in the equation as well? And here in our text we find some powerful and amazing examples of what that could look like for us to be witnesses to the end.
26:55
And laced within the story of these two witnesses are the following realities that should help inform us, should help motivate us and should help encourage us in our witness.
27:04
So if you're taking notes, get ready. There are gonna be 10, you heard it, 10 points, and some of you are going, oh
27:10
I need more coffee. But there's gonna be 10 points to this. I don't usually do 10 point sermons,
27:17
I don't hardly even ever do three point sermons, so hold on tight. The first thing that we see about these witnesses, and I'm gonna just draw it out verse by verse, in verse three, they are clothed in what?
27:29
Sat cloth. That has significance, there's a reason for that, there's an intention behind that. They mourn over the state of the affairs of their earth, of the world that they live in.
27:39
They are mournful about the things that are going on around them. They are not unmoved.
27:45
They are not aloof from the things that are going on. They are not distant from their culture.
27:50
But they are engaged in the things that are going on. I would suggest to you that churches often begin to die at the point where there is no longer a humble connection with their community.
28:03
This is something we need to take into account and consideration. When a church can get to the point where they do not mourn or grieve the pain and hardship that others around them are going through and feeling, and instead of sat cloth and ashes, the church can often become more concerned with design of clothes, dignity, and self -righteousness.
28:25
Think that through. What are these witnesses demonstrating for us? Sat cloth and ashes. Mourning with those around them.
28:34
Mourning for those around them. And here's the question for us as a church. And by the way, when
28:39
I say the church, the church goes the way the individuals go. And when I say that, I can't make us as a church all just move as one in a direction.
28:48
How many of you know that for a church to move in a direction, it takes all of us individually grabbing hold of the truth of God's word and moving with it one by one.
28:56
It comes down to the individual decision. But do we demonstrate humility? Do we demonstrate brokenness?
29:05
Or do we demonstrate, do we present as a church, as one more institution grasping and grabbing for power and recognition?
29:15
It's possible. It's possible. Clothed in sat cloth is the foundation of their witness.
29:24
Second is a pretty obvious observation. It makes sense that it's number two, and that's just simply that there's two of them.
29:31
There you go. Yeah, okay, I see that. There's two witnesses. Well, could it have just been one? But there's an intention behind there being two of them,
29:37
I believe. Some people would say it even is just that a testimony could be established according to Old Testament law based on the testimony of two, that you have somebody in it with you that has corroborated it, has seen it together.
29:51
And there's power in togetherness, isn't there? Is there power in us gathering together and going,
29:57
I don't just have two witnesses in the room. We've got 100 plus witnesses in this room who all have seen the
30:03
Lord themselves, who have all experienced his salvation, who have all connected with him in some way, shape, or form.
30:09
And that's a beautiful thing, isn't it? We need each other is the point. We need others in this ministry together.
30:17
Gospel ministry needs the strength of others for accountability, for relationship, for encouragement.
30:24
I recently, just this past week, I received a text from someone in the church. They were literally on their way,
30:30
I hope they didn't text me in their car, but they were on their way to go to a friend's home and they said,
30:36
I think this is the night I get a chance to share the gospel with this friend. Would you pray for me? So I was like, yeah, whatever.
30:42
I said, yeah, I'll pray for you. And then I just didn't do anything. No, I was excited, I was enthusiastic, I was rejoicing and praying throughout that evening.
30:50
And the text, how did it go, how did it go? And it was just a connecting point of kind of just saying,
30:56
I mean, I just loved it that this individual sent out a text to say, hey, would you pray? Would you pray because I've got this opportunity to testify of Jesus Christ.
31:04
Is that an exciting thing? And you see how that accountability and that relationship works together to just say, pray for me,
31:11
I'm going in. You know, cover me. And it's a cool thing. And we need partnership, we need teamwork in our witness in testifying of the judgment that is to come but the salvation that is there and available for any who would flee from the judgment to come and come under the umbrella of God's salvation through Christ.
31:30
The third thing, they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now, you probably don't see the words Holy Spirit in the text because it's not there, but I don't do this to you very often but you're gonna have to just trust me on this.
31:41
You can read it later. You can go over to Zechariah chapter four later at some other time and see it.
31:47
That chapter, Zechariah chapter four, probably not something you did your quiet time in, not something you're reading on a routine basis and at the same time, powerful part of scripture that John used three times so far in the book of Revelation.
32:00
So far, he has referenced Zechariah chapter four. This is the third time he's used that text.
32:06
John was a student of the Old Testament and he knew his way around and God, of course, through the Spirit was revealing these things to him.
32:13
But he uses that text and it seems to be his favorite way of bringing up the Holy Spirit. Well, the menorah was a picture that seven pointed or seven flamed candle that was used in the temple was a picture of the
32:25
Spirit of God according to Zechariah chapter four. And in verse four, we see the mention of the olive trees, olive trees that provide the oil for the burning of that lamp and then we also see the two lamp stands and that's what these two witnesses are called.
32:39
And what I believe is that these are references to the Holy Spirit quite clearly in his reference to Zechariah four. These two men are used by the
32:46
Holy Spirit. They manifest His work on the earth. And according to Zechariah four, it will not be by their might, it will not be by their power, but it will be by His Spirit.
32:58
That's what the Lord says. By my spirit, not by human endeavor.
33:05
Our witness, by the way, if it's fueled by us, is gonna end in arguments and debates. Have any of you ever,
33:10
I spend a lot of time arguing with non -Christians. Have any of you ever argued with a non -Christian?
33:17
How fruitful was that? Probably not so fruitful, right? How many of you know that it's not gonna be by your intellect or your just wise ability to answer every single question that somebody has that's gonna just make them a
33:29
Christian? Man, okay, you twisted my arm, you win. You win the argument, I must be a Christian now.
33:36
That's not the way it usually works. How many of you have just done a really poor job or heard a poor job of sharing the gospel and somebody says, yes,
33:45
I believe that. And it's just like, yeah, that's so awesome. I mean, I've done some pretty shabby jobs presenting the gospel and had someone go, yeah,
33:54
I haven't thought about that. It's the power of the Spirit, not our ability, but certainly our responsibility to bring it, right?
34:03
Our responsibility to bring it. So it's the power of the Spirit that's gonna get this done. Do you consider that the calling for you is to allow the
34:12
Spirit to work through you in proclaiming the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ to those who need salvation, considering your role in that?
34:21
And that really, ultimately, it comes down to the power of the Spirit. Fourth, we are protected.
34:27
This is maybe not the most encouraging sentence, but it is interesting, and I see it in the text. We are protected for as long as we have a ministry to accomplish.
34:36
We're protected for as long as we have a ministry to accomplish. For these two witnesses, their ministry is lined out for them, three and a half years, a very specific amount of time.
34:48
And according to verse five, nobody can harm them. As a matter of fact, they in turn can harm others by the words of their mouth, by the fire and the flame that comes from them to consume others who would seek to harm them or destroy them.
35:02
I think it is important for us to understand nobody's gonna take us home before it's our time to go, before God says it's time.
35:09
Some interpret the fire, by the way, that these witnesses spew as figurative for words of condemnation. Some see it as a reality that the flames of hell will indeed be the destination of those who oppose them.
35:21
I believe it's quite possible that there's going to be a standoff in Jerusalem between two powerful witnesses and those who oppose them.
35:27
I mentioned that I think these could be two literal figures that show up at the end times. Maybe even two of the 144 ,000 that were mentioned as being protected at the start of this passage, and maybe that's why it's there.
35:40
But again, what matters for our understanding is not how it all works in the end, but that God will not allow
35:46
His witnesses to be taken until their ministry is complete. Think about it this way.
35:53
I am, and you are, invincible as long as God has need for you.
36:03
You're invincible as long as God has need for you here. And that fills, that ought to fill, every minute of your breathing this air with purpose.
36:16
It ought to motivate us to think, I'm here for a reason. I'm here for a purpose.
36:23
I'm here to testify of the glory of God through Jesus Christ in all that I do.
36:30
To be bold with that. The fifth point, if you're taking notes. God's witnesses bring power.
36:37
They come with power. According to verse six, these witnesses are granted miraculous powers, that it seems like a bit of a stretch to apply to you and me.
36:45
Would you agree with me on that? Like they're talking about bringing plagues and shutting up the rain so it doesn't come down and all of this stuff.
36:53
And Elijah, like Elijah, these two can command the weather and call down fire on their enemies.
36:59
Like Moses, they can turn the water into blood and bring assorted plagues at their will, the text says.
37:07
And although you could accuse me of stretching the application, I want to point out, before I talk about this too much, that I do believe in miracles and I would never try to explain those away.
37:15
And this might be a literal manifestation of miracles at the end. I believe it probably is.
37:21
And God can do whatever He desires through His servants and He could do so through you or me. It's just reality.
37:28
And I want to make sure that we acknowledge that. But I also contend that one of the greatest miracles ever is the changing and redeeming of a human heart.
37:38
And that power is with every witness of God.
37:45
Every time we testify, it brings the full power of the cross to bear on somebody's life.
37:51
Either for their judgment and their rejection of it, or for their blessing and eternal life.
37:57
But every time that we testify, we are given immense power to convey to somebody else through the words of our mouths.
38:06
Isn't that an awesome thing to think about? That when you testify and when you speak of what God has done for you in Christ and you talk about His cross and you talk about the protection and the umbrella of protection that others can have just like you have from the coming wrath of God.
38:23
You're bringing power into that situation. I've never turned water to blood.
38:33
Never really had a cause to. I've never shut the sky so that no rain could fall.
38:40
But I have been used by God as an instrument of redemption for one of God's image bearers.
38:46
It's a glorious thing. Something I'm not worthy of. But it's a beautiful thing.
38:54
And my prayer is that every one of you gets to experience that. There's a devastating statistic out there is that the average person in America who calls themselves a born again believer does not in their lifetime lead another person to Jesus.
39:15
It's average. I don't know if you're in this room and you're just kind of going, yeah, just haven't had that chance yet.
39:23
I'm not going to hit you with a two by four but I'm going to suggest that maybe you ought to look at your week and think about the people that you interact with and relate to.
39:33
And maybe you only hang around with church people. That's an issue too. That's something you ought to consider and think through and work through.
39:39
If you're like, man, I just don't even see anybody who's not a Christian throughout the week. One of the reasons we have simple programming here at Recast is so that you can turn that around.
39:49
So that you can have your next door neighbor over for dinner on a Thursday night because guess what? No church program on Thursday night.
39:55
Intentionally. So that you might have those chances to engage your son's little league, the other parents that are in there and the other relationships on your kids' sports teams or through school or through band or through a variety, a whole host of different opportunities that you have in your workplace, again in your neighborhoods.
40:14
All of those opportunities that we have. To bring the power into those situations.
40:27
I would suggest to you that the witness of God is willing to use whatever is at his or her disposal to bring others to him.
40:36
And in the end, these two witnesses are giving great manifestations of power and instead of using their whole weather power thingy to improve their golf game, they use it to testify of God.
40:52
What is it that you could be using that God has given to you to testify of salvation through Jesus Christ?
41:00
The sixth thing. In verses 7 through 8, we find that when our witness is done, we go home.
41:06
We go bye -bye. For these two specific witnesses, whether figurative or real, hard to tell who they are again and I think they're literal, but a demon known as the beast rises out of the abyss and wars against the witnesses and kills them.
41:24
Witnessing does not make us invincible. It doesn't make you invincible. It's not like, oh, I better get out witnessing so that I can live a long life.
41:31
That's not the point. As long as God has a ministry for you, you'll be around. But when it's over, you'll go home.
41:41
Now if I was a prosperity gospel preacher, I would have to somehow maybe blame these two witnesses a little bit right here.
41:49
I'd have to explain why would they have died. How could they have died? Well, they must not have had enough faith in their battle against the beast.
41:56
They must not have trusted God enough and if they'd just had enough faith, or maybe if they'd given enough, then they would have defeated the beast and he would have never touched their life because what is the, what would
42:09
I have to say if I was a prosperity preacher? Well, prosperity preachers make their money telling everyone that God only ever wants you to be comfortable.
42:20
He only ever wants you to be comfortable. Verses seven through eight remind us that we have a genuine enemy.
42:28
There is a real enemy that seeks our destruction and just like Jesus, God even uses the death of his saints to testify, to bring his message to bear.
42:42
In verses eight through ten, the seventh point is that we should not be surprised when people reject our message.
42:49
You see, many see our message as repression and some will even call it torment.
42:55
Have you thought of your message, the message you have to bring of coming judgment, but salvation from that judgment through Jesus as torment to people?
43:02
That's a strong word, but it's used in our text here. Torment. We need not, however, look any further than the huge chasm between biblical sexual ethics and the world's increasingly confusing and chaotic sexual ethics to see just how tormented our culture is by the message of scripture.
43:23
On that issue, do you think we are a torment to our culture on that point regarding sexual ethics?
43:29
I believe we are. I believe that they feel tormented by the Christian message on sex being a wonderful thing within the bounds of a protected covenant of marriage.
43:43
The world can't stand that. It's a stench to them. And fundamental to the gospel is the reality of judgment for sin.
43:52
If we don't explain human depravity and God's righteous wrath towards sin, then the cross will make no sense.
44:00
The fundamental question of the universe, think about it, I really believe this is the fundamental question of the universe, why did
44:06
Jesus die on that cross? Why did he die there?
44:12
The answer to that question makes all the difference. Salvation is only found when we recognize he was there on that cross dying for our sins.
44:23
Right? And we recognize how grave our sin is that the Son of God stepped out of heaven and was crucified by us because of our sin so that he could be the sacrifice for us.
44:36
It makes sense of how devastating and depraved our hearts really are.
44:42
But to a world that doesn't believe in sin, I don't think I'm stretching it too much to say that it's increasingly, we're increasingly drawing forward as a society and as a culture that does not even believe that the category of sin is viable, that it even is reality.
44:59
So to a world like that, our message sounds a lot like a tormenting constriction on human entertainment, human freedom, human self -expression.
45:12
So what do they do to these two witnesses? After they're killed, they leave their bodies in the streets, the streets of Jerusalem as a memorial to the removal of that oppressive message of judgment.
45:27
The call to all of us as witnesses could be even unto death. It's not a call for the faint of heart.
45:34
And in Jerusalem, they exchange presents to celebrate the death of God's chosen witnesses.
45:43
I don't know what you want it to look like here when you leave, when you're gone.
45:50
Kind of like to, you kind of think that you'd like a few people to show up at your funeral. Would it be comfortable to know that nobody would cry when you were gone?
46:01
Kind of want some tears, right? Being honest, you kind of want a few tears, the kind of sorrow that you're gone, sadness that you're not going to be around.
46:11
How would it feel if you knew that people were going to share presents with each other and celebrate your demise?
46:19
That's the picture of these two witnesses. I mean, they make it an international holiday.
46:24
They're gone, the ones who tormented us, the ones who couldn't stand the way that we lived and kept telling us that judgment is coming.
46:31
They're gone. Celebrate. And leave their bodies in the streets as a memorial to the removal of that oppression, that terrible, terrible message that we hated.
46:43
But for their witnesses, their death is not the end. Look at verse 11. The breath of God returned.
46:55
Resurrection and vindication will be the reality for all who belong to Him. Our accusers, those who slandered us, those who killed us, those who mocked us, those who hated us, will all behold us with the breath of God in our lungs to a person who is under the protection of Jesus Christ.
47:16
Everyone will stand with His breath in our lungs. The people of God cannot be killed by murder.
47:27
We can't be killed. Just like the grave couldn't hold Jesus, the very power that raised
47:33
Him from the grave will work in our bodies to restore and to resurrect. Number nine.
47:40
The temporary destination of the witness is heaven, according to verse 12. By the end of the book, we'll see a restored earth where all will return and that restored earth will be our final home.
47:51
But while the kingdoms of this earth are taking their final stand against the Lord, we will be sheltered in heaven awaiting the final confrontation that comes with the blast of the seventh trumpet in verse 15.
48:02
Ten. My tenth and final observation about our witnesses is that often the seeds of our testimony do not take root until after our death.
48:12
And further, it often takes tragedy to shake fallen people to see their need for salvation. At the ascension of the two witnesses into heaven, the city experiences an earthquake that takes out one -tenth of the population and the rest of the city shows fear and they glorify
48:26
God. The terms that are used here have a strong connotation of genuine conversion.
48:32
Once again, I believe that this indicates the success of the two witnesses as well as an overall plan that many
48:37
Jews in the end will come to see Jesus as the Messiah. But for many, it will be just before the end.
48:45
Just before the end. And just before the end comes the blowing of the seventh trumpet.
48:53
And at the blowing of the seventh seal, we arrive at what is called the eschaton, the final day.
49:00
A glorious and amazing, beautiful day. The day that is ushered in with this final shout, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our
49:10
Lord and His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.
49:16
How could that day be called a final woe? Do you see that in the text? It's called a woe, like a bad thing.
49:23
But in the up and coming cycles of destruction that uses the image of the seven bowls of God's wrath that we're going to cover here in a few weeks, we get to this point in the narrative in those accountings and we find that the kingdoms of this world will arise and take a final stand against Jesus and His saints.
49:40
And they will not give up their rule. They will not lay down their weapons.
49:45
They will not raise a white flag and surrender. They will not confess their sins and be saved.
49:51
Instead, they will stand resolutely against God and His Son to the end. And there are some texts coming where the slaughter is great, where it talks about blood flowing up to the horse's bridle.
50:05
Great slaughter among mankind. Not one -third of the population but all who stand in opposition to the one who came first to love them.
50:13
But then will come to judge them. The 24 elders once again fall before the throne.
50:20
It seems to be a full -time job for them and they give thanks to the one who is and who was and what we expect to be and will be forever and instead,
50:28
He forgoes that because forever has come. And He says, Now you have taken up your great power to exercise your rightful and benevolent rule over the entire earth.
50:41
And we pray for that day, right? Every time we pray, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
50:49
We are asking for that final day. And on that final day, the nations that raged against the
50:57
Lamb will come up against His divine wrath. And the dead will be judged.
51:04
All who fear the name of God, prophets and saints, small and great, will receive rewards.
51:10
That's a cool thought. And then this statement, The destroyers of the earth will be destroyed themselves.
51:18
Those who have said about the corruption and devastation of others will be the objects of the fierce wrath of the
51:24
Almighty. It's a terrifying thought. Some of those people that you and I know.
51:35
And we have a message. That it's not too late for them. It's not too late right now.
51:44
The day's coming when it's too late. But that day, that day isn't right now.
51:52
What are we going to do about that? The final image
51:58
John sees in the cycle of the trumpets of God's wrath is the opening of the temple in heaven. And the
52:04
Ark of the Covenant is there. The Ark that symbolized the presence of God with his people. Which nobody,
52:10
I don't know if you realize this. You saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, so you know what the Ark looks like. Did you know the average
52:16
Israelite, once the temple was instituted, never saw it? Because it was behind a heavy veil.
52:23
And the only one who was allowed to see it was when the high priest went in once a year to make an offering there in the presence of the
52:32
Ark of the Covenant. But now it's open. Why is it open? Because God will dwell with his people forever.
52:39
A glorious thought. We need to witness. We need to testify of what
52:46
Christ has done for us. You see, the contrast between the destiny of those who oppose God and those who fear him could not be further apart.
52:55
And we have been granted the very words of life. Why is the ministry of these two witnesses placed right up against the vision of the end?
53:03
Why did I cover that in one message? To move us and to motivate us. To boldly spread the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
53:16
So will you follow the example of these two witnesses? Will you go out boldly and share with others in sackcloth and ashes?
53:28
Will you get some partner to go with you? Will you get somebody who can pray for you? Will you get somebody who can hold you accountable and work with you through these things?
53:39
Will you go out with trust in God that he has a purpose for you? That it's the power of his spirit at work in you?
53:48
Resurrection is going to be ours someday. But man, who are we going to bring with us? Are we going to be saved alone?
53:56
We need to witness. I hope that as we come to communion this morning, you'll take a moment to let all of this sink in.
54:03
His body was broken for us. His blood was shed for us. And then before you take that cracker and that juice,
54:09
I want you to pause and consider something just really simple. How many crackers are in the plates?
54:19
And I'm not asking you to count it. Don't count it. That's missing the point. How many cups of juice are there?
54:26
How many are we going to pour out when we're done? This isn't a Catholic church. I don't drink it all. I don't eat it all at the end.
54:33
How many are we going to throw out? And I don't mean this to, it's just not meant to just heap coals on your head, but it's just a reality.
54:41
And just think, who could we be bringing in? Who are those extra crackers for?
54:48
Who is that extra juice there for? And next year, are we going to put out more juice and more crackers?
54:56
Because the kingdom has grown. Because we've taken this call seriously and we've been moved by the text to recognize our calling and our purpose in life is to witness and to testify of salvation in Him while there's still time.
55:10
Are we going to need to add more crackers? Are we going to need to add more juice? Not for our kingdom.
55:16
My goodness, that is not what this is about. Not that the name of recast might be expanded and grown and we might fill our new building or something like that.
55:26
But for this day, for this day, Charles Spurgeon said there's only two days.
55:34
There's really only two days on the calendar that ought to matter to you and me. This day and that day.
55:44
This day and that day. Those are the days that matter.
55:51
Tomorrow, yesterday, Father, I pray that you would start with me, start with the elders, start with the leaders.
56:20
Father, we have a need for you to defeat apathy in our lives. I have a strong need for you to break in with this motivation.
56:31
The end is coming and yet we expect tomorrow to be the same as today and the next day to be the same as this and next week to be the same as this and next month to be the same as this month and we have this short -sighted perspective.
56:45
Father, overcome that for us. Move us deeper into a relationship with you that is bold for your sake.
56:53
Bold for your kingdom. Move us in whatever way possible that we might share this with others in Jesus' name.