Two Bible Prophets Murdered in Jerusalem
Revelation 11
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
If there is a city in the world that Satan would love to manifest his evil upon, Jerusalem is certainly that city. This city is one of God’s jewels on earth God’s prophets have always been connected to. The murder of God’s two prophets during the Tribulation years is both evident of God’s miracles and Satan’s evil design. These two great prophets show that the Father never gives up in His desire to redeem. Worldwide prophets are proof that the Father does nothing without His chosen servants. These men are truly special.
The Book of Revelation is redemption from beginning to end. You see a Father in Heaven who never rejoices to judge the world. It is always done with a rainbow over the earth. Redemption has a backdrop and that picture shows love covering every scene. This chapter unites the temple with a call to turn around from the enemy of man.
This great chapter begins with the temple in earthly Jerusalem and ends with the temple in Heavenly Jerusalem. These two cities are destined to be the center of all God’s universe for eternity. The present focus is a sense of the finality and the finishing of redemptive and judgmental activities. The Antichrist both loves and hates earthly Jerusalem because of the ageless battle between his capital, Babylon, and the Father’s chosen capital. Babylon and Jerusalem are the antitheses of each other and the final struggle between them is gathering momentum. To be the god of this world, Satan must control Jerusalem, as well as Babylon. His Antichrist has established his image in the outer court of the Jerusalem temple and the majority of the Jewish population has fled the city and sought refuge wherever possible.
The Jewish leaders will be terribly deceived by the Antichrist, actually accepting him as their messiah, but the installation of the Antichrist image in the temple will convince them of their error. In His Olivet discourse Jesus Christ warned them of the results of their deception. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” Matthew 24:15-22. The leaders of the Jewish temple have watched Daniel’s prophecy fulfilled right before their eyes in this story.
Daniel had prophesied of this coming judgment and gave clear details of the Seven Year period, where in the middle of the seven years (one week of years) this beastly imitation would be manifest and placed in the Jewish temple. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” Daniel 9:27 The fateful hours have arrived in this prophecy and Jerusalem is in the center of a worldwide effort by the Antichrist to establish full power on a global basis. This beast of a man will hate the nation of Israel for their effort to deny his right to the temple and the Jews will be slaughtered wherever they can be found.
The prophets called this period Jacob’s Trouble. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days” Daniel 12:1-13.
Again, let’s understand the two different word pictures of the Seven Years of Tribulation. The first view is seen in chapters six to eleven of the Book of Revelation. This is the final chapter of that picture. The first view focuses on the first three and one-half years and gives us only a bird’s-eye view of the last three and one-half years. Chapter eleven is the short view of the last half of the seven years.
2 Peter 2
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
The next view of the seven years gives a full view of the last three and one-half years and only a short view of the first half. These two views together present us with a masterful picture of these seven years of the Great Tribulation. The first view focuses primarily on the heavenly action and the second view primarily on the earthly action. Most of what is seen in the first full picture is the activities of the Father and the Lamb. Also most of what occurs in the second view is the diabolical activities of the devil, his Antichrist, and his false prophet.
Chapter twelve will actually start at the same hour or point in time as the fourth chapter. Remember that this chapter eleven is the short view of the last half of the seven years. Chapter twelve will be the short view of the first half of the seven-year period and chapter thirteen will start in the middle of those seven year. This simple information will help you to understand the progress of this actual period in the close of human history.
“AND THERE WAS GIVEN ME A REED LIKE UNTO A ROD; AND THE ANGEL STOOD, SAYING RISE, AND MEASURE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THE ALTAR, AND THEM THAT WORSHIP THEREIN. BUT THE COURT WHICH IS WITHOUT THE TEMPLE LEAVE OUT, AND MEASURE IT NOT; FOR IT IS GIVEN UNTO THE GENTILES: AND THE HOLY CITY SHALL THEY TREAD UNDER FOOT FORTY AND TWO MONTHS” Revelation 11:1-2.
We are a little past the middle of the seven year period. The abomination spoken of by Daniel is now erected in the Jewish temple’s Holy Place. Remember that the temple has a Holy of Holies, which is the court where the Ark of the Covenant once stood. There is a possibility that it will be found and will be present at this prophetic moment when this Scripture is fulfilled. There are Jewish worshippers in that holy place at this moment in prophecy and they apparently refuse to leave. When John was told to measure the temple, the altar, and the worshipper; he was confirming that Jewish worshippers would possess this temple. For some unknown reason, they are not removed. There are Jewish believers in this area of the temple and the Antichrist does not remove them.
But the court outside (outer area) the Holy of Holies is not measured because it is in the possession of this beast of the Antichrist. The second verse confirms that the Gentiles, led by Antichrist, will possess the rest of the temple and will control it for three and one-half years or forty-two months. The Antichrist will probably allow those worshippers that possess the Holy of Holies to remain either as a public relations ploy or because they are in possession of military ability to destroy the entire temple complex if the Antichrist threatens to evict them. It will be a stand off that lays the groundwork for the Battle of Armageddon, when the Antichrist has an army ready to obliterate Jerusalem.
The two opening verses reveal an awesome period developing for the Jewish nation. Again, this Book of Revelation is written to the church, but Israel must be seen in her part of this great struggle. The First and Second Testaments are certainly seen in the wholeness of their relationship as this book continues to unfold.
“AND I WILL GIVE POWER UNTO MY TWO WITNESESS, AND THEY SHALL PROPHEY A THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND THREESCROE DAYS, CLOTHED IN SACKCLOTH. THESE ARE THE TWO OLIVE TREES, AND THE TWO CANDLESTICKS STANDING BEFORE THE GOD OF THE EARTH. AND IF ANY MAN WILL HURT THEM, FIRE PROCEEDETH OUT OF THEIR MOUTH, AND DEVOURETH THEIR ENEMIES: AND IF ANY MAN WILL HURT THEM, HE MUST IN THIS MANNER BE KILLED” Revelation 11:3-5.
God now empowers two great Jewish prophets to begin a ministry that captures the attention of the whole world. These two men probably have a connection to those worshippers in the Holy of Holies and the world will both hear and see their ministry and their struggle to awake men to the righteousness of God. It’s beautiful to see this contrast of the Antichrist and his image in the Jewish temple and these two prophets that begin to expose the Antichrist and his connection to a part of the temple where the Antichrist has his great image. That image will be able to speak and will be given some form of paranormal life. At the same time, these prophets will bellow out their rebuke and expose the devil’s lies.
Their ministry will cover this same last half of the seven-year period so that the Antichrist will never get a free pass. God’s two prophets will hound him everywhere he goes. They will warn this entire globe of Satan’s false trinity and his lies. These men will be clothed in sackcloth so no one will fail to recognize them. They possess a supernatural anointing and God calls them His two “olive trees” or “candlesticks.” They are invincible to these enemies and no one can kill them. When it says, “fire proceedeth out of their mouth,” this could be speaking of their supernatural words that are instantly fulfilled when they speak. These men will be miracle workers from the Heavenly Father and their miracles will be a stark contrast to the Antichrist and his false prophet.
“THESE HAVE POWER TO SHUT HEAVEN, THAT IT RAIN NOT IN THE DAY OF THEIR PROPHECY: AND HAVE POWER OVER WATERS TO TURN THEM TO BLOOD, AND TO SMITE THE EARTH WITH ALL PLAGUES, AS OFTEN AS THEY WILL. AND WHEN THEY SHALL HAVE FINISHED THEIR TESTIMONY, THE BEAST THAT ASCENDETH OUT OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT SHALL MAKE WAR AGAINST THEM, AND SHALL OVERCOME THEM, AND KILL THEM.” Revelation 11:6-7.
The world will see and hear the power of Holy Scripture from the lips of these two Godly men. Wicked men will be instantly rebuked with action. When men refuse to hear the Word of God, these prophets will get their attention with miracles that close the heavens and control all natural activities. If the circumstances require it, they will turn water to blood and call for plagues that revel God’s wrath at sin. Their action will be the exact penalties of the transgressors. Holiness and wickedness will be seen in perfect contrast.
Ephesians 2
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
When God is finished with them, the Beast will have power to kill them, but not until God Himself is wonderfully exalted. Satan and his emissaries are always on a leash. The battle between the Antichrist and these two prophets is called a war. Apparently, it will be a protracted struggle. Armies will be engaged and these prophets will be chased across continents and finally captured. The Father intends for their death to show the hatred of the Antichrist for the truth. When they are dead, this world will be advised and the news media will proclaim it as a victory for their champion, the Beast.
“AND THEIR DEAD BODIES SHALL LIE IN THE STREET OF THE GREAT CITY, WHICH SPIRITUALLY IS CALLED SODOM AND EGYPT, WHERE ALSO OUR LORD WAS CRUCIFIED. AND THEY OF THE PEOPLE AND KINDREDS AND TONGUES AND NATIONS SHALL SEE THEIR DEAD BODIES THREE DAYS AND AN HALF, AND SHALL NOT SUFFER THEIR DEAD BODIES TO BE PUT IN GRAVES. AND THEY THAT DWELL UPON THE EARTH SHALL REJOICE OVER THEM, AND MAKE MERRY, AND SHALL SEND GIFTS ONE TO ANOTHER; BECAUSE THESE TWO PROPHETS TORMENTED THEM THAT DWELLTH ON THE EARTH” Revelation 11:8-10.
The world rejoices as the news is telecast. The prophets are dead. They are made a laughingstock and their dead bodies are allowed to decompose right in the street of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be under Antichrist control and the character of the city will be Sodom and Egypt. That means that the city is a cesspool of moral degeneration. There will be rejoicing and shouting by the most depraved of human beings right around their decomposing bodies.
The world pleads for a view of these hated prophets in death. Their bodies will be on display and used in the vilest abominations. They have preached righteousness to an unrighteous world and the treatment must be in full satisfaction of the rage against restraints. Nothing makes wicked men angrier than to be told of their wickedness. This picture has got to be the very last drops of the vile actions that finish “God’s cup of wrath.” The world calls for a party. To them, it’s like the devil has won and the days of Godly men and women, whose very lifestyle is a rebuke, is finally over. But, it is not over!
“And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Revelation 11:11-12
In the midst of their party, while they view the rotten corpses that are being abused, something begins to happen that this world has never viewed. Those two dead prophets suddenly begin to change. Rotten flesh turns to life, their physical appearance turns fresh and new, and breath enters into their once dead bodies. In the presence of this world, while television cameras catch each detail, they stand alive upon their feet. There is no doubt that their first words will be the Gospel message and the price of sinful living. Giddy and foolish men and women will suddenly turn ghostly and riddled with fear. Fear will take hold of men like a thousand deaths. Their victory turns to defeat in their face. The world begins to mourn.
The Lamb of God thunders His trumpet as He calls out to the resurrected prophets, “Come up hither.” They will be raptured before a watching world and will ascend to God in a cloud. Words fail to express this moment like it will be seen by the partying multitudes. Victory is turned to defeat in one short period, minutes at the most. The Bible says, while “their enemies beheld them.” No wonder God planned the war and allowed their death, so that He could reveal the triumph of His righteousness.
“AND THE SAME HOUR WAS THERE A GREAT EARTHQUAKE, AND THE TENTH PART OF THE CITY FELL, AND IN THE EARTHQUAKE WERE SLAIN OF MEN SEVEN THOUSAND: AND THE REMNANT WERE AFFRIGHTED, AND GAVE GLORY TO THE GOD OF HEAVEN” Revelation11:13.
Probably no event of the seven years will capture the attention of this world more fully than this. Fear descends like a black and threatening cloud. The forty-two months of these two prophets, their death, resurrection, and their ascension bring the seven years of the Great Tribulation to its last, short, closing days. We see the rest of the events in the following chapters of Revelation: thirteen through eighteen. Much of it will happen simultaneously with these prophets preaching God’s word. During the same hour of the prophets’ resurrection, there is a great earthquake. “Seven thousand men were destroyed” and the remnant “were affrighted.” And the scripture says, and I add finally, they “gave glory to God.” Did they repent? The Bible does not say.
“THE SECOND WOE IS PAST; AND, BEHOLD, THE THIRD WOE COMETH QUICKLY. AND THE SEVENTH ANGEL SOUNDED; AND THERE WERE GREAT VOICES IN HEAVEN, SAYING, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER” Revelation 11:14-15.
The words above help us understand that while we are viewing different aspects of this hour, most of it occurs at the same time as other things we will view. Two woes are past and the third is coming does not mean progression, but rather one sorrow on top of two sorrows. The third woe and this seventh angel sounding, is like a warning of what is to come as this seven year period continues to unfold. While we will return to view many events in the second full story of these same years, now, we pause to see the end of it all.
Matthew 23
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
The angels of the Lord and the Elders in heaven are heard proclaiming “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.” Everything that occurs in this entire Book of Revelation is preparation for His kingdom. Nothing shall be lost, but the lost themselves. All this misery is misery of sin and rebellion. All the sorrows are the sorrows of unbelief and disobedience. Nothing in this book spells anything, but glory for His saints.
“AND THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS, WHICH SAT BEFORE GOD ON THEIR SEATS, FELL UPON THEIR FACES, AND WORSHIPPED GOD, SAYING, WE GIVE THEE THANKS, O LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHICH ART, AND WAST, AND ART TO COME; BECAUSE THOU HAST TAKEN TO THEE THY GREAT POWER, AND HAS REIGNED” Revelation 11:16-17.
We see the raptured saints that have been an integral part of these proceedings fall again prostrate before the throne. Their worship in heaven is almost divine. God is the center of their attention and His throne is never far from any part of the story. They worship God because they see His sovereignty in every scene. The cry of a true saint of God is, “Thy kingdom come.” Finally, after long years, even millenniums, the day has come. They can see His kingdom rising from the ruins of judgment and tribulation.
“AND THE NATIONS WERE ANGRY, AND THY WRATH IS COME, AND THE TIME OF THE DEAD, THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, AND THAT THOU SHOULDEST GIVE REWARD UNTO THY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, AND TO THE SAINTS, AND THEY THAT FEAR THY NAME, SMALL AND GREAT; AND SHOULDEST DESTROY THEM WHICH DESTOY THE EARTH. AND THE TEMPLE OF GOD WAS OPENED IN HEAVEN, AND THERE WAS SEEN IN HIS TEMPLE THE ARK OF HIS TESTAMENT: AND THERE WERE LIGHTNINGS, AND VOICES AND THUNDERINGS, AND AN EARTHQUAKE, AND GREAT HAIL” Revelation 11:18-19.
The closing of this chapter is absolutely breathtaking. The nations are ripe for judgment, they know it, and they are angry. This is such an incredible closing of the seven years. The dead are going to be judged and rewards are going to be given unto His prophets and all His saints. Anyone, whose faith was a faith of righteous fear and loving obedience, are going to be rewarded. Now, read this statement that I have never found before in Scripture; “them that have destroyed the earth” are going to be destroyed themselves. This earth is God’s creation and the abusers of His beautiful universe will pay a heavy price.
And now the grand closing: “the temple of God was opened in heaven.” No human being has ever entered this temple. Solomon built its counterpart, but this is the heavenly type of which Solomon’s temple was but a shadow. The doors are wide open and the implication is that, finally, His created family, redeemed and glorified, will have eternal access. In the temple is the “ark of His testament.” The Bible we have is but the copy of the eternal book that is in the temple. Even the natural world responds with sounds of “voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.” These expressions of nature are the first sounds of a purified universe?
Conclusion
We must leave this beautiful story, return to the beginning of the seven years, and view it again from the casting out of the devil from his mid-air kingdom down to the earth. The Lord intends for us not to let this scene slip from our view while we go back to take another look at these same dark seven years. Shortly, we will see those doors to the heavenly temple opened for eternity and all of His saints welcomed.