XVII. More about the two witnesses.
A. We saw earlier that two prophets will begin their ministry in Jerusalem at the midpoint of the seven years and will prophesy for 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3). This will be the entire length of time from the 'abomination' to the end of the seven years.
B. The two witnesses will testify about the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus.
1. The Jews will be warned by the witnesses not to take the Mark of Antichrist.
2. Many Jews will be saved through the testimony of the two witnesses. Many of these will be saved after the Appearance of Jesus and after the Rapture.
3. The ministry of these witnesses will be a constant plague to Antichrist and his followers.
C. After the first six Trumpet Judgments, Antichrist will finally be allowed to kill the two witnesses (Revelation 11:7).
D. The news of the victory of Antichrist over the witnesses will be broadcast worldwide. The world will see the bodies of the witnesses lying in the public square of Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8).
E. Much of the world’s population will rejoice and celebrate, believing that there still is hope of defeating God (Revelation 11:10).
F. After three and a half days, the dead bodies will come back to life in the sight of the world. They will then be taken up into the heavens (Revelation 11:11-12).
G. There will be a great earthquake immediately following the resurrection of the two witnesses.
1. Seven thousand persons will be killed by the earthquake in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:13).
2. It is difficult to imagine the terror that the resurrection of the two witnesses and of the great earthquake will have on the followers of Antichrist.
XVIII. With the end of the 1,260 days given to the witnesses to prophesy we know that we are at the end of the seven years.
A. We know from the word of Gabriel that ‘everlasting righteousness’ is to come to the people of Israel now that the last seven-year period has ended (Daniel 9:24).
B. We now see Jesus in Jerusalem at Temple Mount with the 144,000 Jews (Revelation 14:1). This is not symbolism. Jesus will literally lead the 144,000 into Jerusalem almost immediately after the two witnesses are taken into Heaven (Revelation 14:1).
1. It is notable that the very first spot liberated by Jesus and the 144,000 sealed Jews is Temple Mount, the most sacred place on earth to both God and to the Jewish people.
2. In the Book of Revelation, the events of chapter 14 follow directly after the events of chapter 11 because chapter 12 and 13 are flashback chapters.
C. These 144,000 sealed Jews are the firstfruits of Righteous Israel (Revelation 14:4).
D. The Jews that fled into the ‘wilderness’ for 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6) will be back in Israel.
E. This is the country born in a day as spoken through Isaiah (Isaiah 66:8, Zechariah 3:9).
XIX. The end of the seven-year period brings several events.
A. Jesus and the 144,000 sealed Jews now take possession of the Land of Israel (Revelation 14:1).
B. The Jews who have been in the ‘wilderness for 1,260 days will have returned to Jerusalem (Revelation 12:6).
C. The Gentile occupying forces of Antichrist and the Jews who have taken the Mark of Antichrist will be driven out or killed (Revelation 11:2).
D. One third of the Jews who will have stayed in Israel but will not have followed Antichrist, will have come to realize that Jesus is Messiah and will accept Him as Savior. (Zechariah 13:8).
E. Antichrist will no longer have any power over anyone in Israel (Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:5).
XX. The seventh Trumpet Judgment occurs after Jesus is in control of the Land of Israel.
A. The entire world is see as coming under the rule of Jesus (Revelation 11:15).
B. The rule of the earth by Jesus (Revelation 11:15, Romans 15:12) is seen in Heaven, but the Gentile world is not yet aware of this.
XXI. Antichrist will have been weakened in the eyes of the people even though the Tribulation Continues.
A. After the entire world has seen Jesus Appear and after the Rapture, God will be seen as much more powerful than Antichrist, even by the followers of Antichrist.
B. Antichrist will be further weakened by the resurrection of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:12).
C. Satan and Antichrist will continue to try and convince people, probably using conspiracy-theory reasoning (e.g. that God is really only a space alien), and that God can be defeated.
D. Antichrist will realize that the only hope left of maintaining his power will be to retake the Land of Israel.
XXII. Two Heavenly harvests are seen after the end of the seven years (Revelation 14:14-20).
A. We see two harvesters with sickles immediately following the end of the seven years. The description of the first harvester indicates that He must be Jesus; the second harvester is an angel. Both harvesters are in the heavens and both are said to be harvesting the earth. Their two harvests are far different from each other.
B. Jesus is seen as a harvesting on earth and wearing a crown (Revelation 14:14-16). The crown and the placement of this vision in Scripture immediately following the end of the seven years indicates that this harvest takes place by Jesus in His role as King. Jesus will lead His army to cleanse the Land of Israel. As we have seen in a few other places, the word ‘earth’ can also be translated as ‘land’ or ‘country.’ In this passage it seems to be best understood that Jesus is dealing with followers of Antichrist, both Jews and Gentiles, that remain in newly created Righteous Israel.
C. In contrast to Jesus harvesting in Israel, we see the second harvester harvesting among Gentile nations that follow Antichrist. This angel is gathering the armies of Antichrist to attack Israel and to be defeated at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 14:17-20).
XXIII. The seven Bowls of God’s Wrath will be poured on earth after the end of the seven years and before the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:1-21).
A. These Bowl Judgments will be unleashed only on the Gentile world, not on the new Kingdom of Israel.
B. The first Bowl Judgment will be festering sores on people with the Mark (Revelation 16:2).
C. The second Bowl Judgment will be poured on the sea (probably on the Mediterranean Sea) to turn it to blood and kill everything in the sea (Revelation 16:3).
D. The third Bowl Judgment will be poured out on the rivers and springs and change them to blood (Revelation 16:4).
E. The forth Bowl Judgment will allow people to be scorched by the heat of the sun (Revelation 16:8-9).
F. The fifth Bowl Judgment on the home city of Antichrist and will plunge it into darkness (Revelation 16:10-11).
G. The sixth Bowl Judgment is poured out and will dry up the Euphrates River to allow the nations of the east to easily take part in the Battle of Armageddon and to be defeated (Revelation 16:12-14).
XXIV. The pouring of the Seventh Bowl Judgment is shown in Revelation 16:16-17.
A. The seventh Judgment will take place after the armies of the world are in place at Armageddon and it will unleash hundred pound hail and the greatest earthquake of all time (Revelation 16:16-21).
B. This will be a judgment on all the earth.
C. It is said of the earthquake that, “Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found” (Revelation 16:20). The landscape of the entire earth will be changed. This is consistent with the “new heavens and a new earth” as given in Isaiah 65:17.
XXV. The decline and fall of the society of “Babylon” is concurrent with the decline and fall of Antichrist.
A. The society of excessive luxuries of the rich and widespread acceptance and promotion of sin cannot overcome the plagues that God has rained on the world.
B. There will be some Christians who were saved after the Rapture that will be living in the city of ‘Babylon’ (Revelation 18:4), and God warns these people to flee before the final judgment of the city.
C. The city of ‘Babylon’ that has embodied the worst of excess and sin will be destroyed. Revelation 18:17 tells us that, “In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!”
D. There will be great sorrow among the merchants of the world over the loss of all this luxury as described in Revelation chapter 18.
XXVI. The Bible emphases the importance of the Battle of Armageddon by bringing our attention to it for a third time.
A. We have already been told about the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 14:17-20 with the harvest of the angel and again in Revelation 16:17-21 with the pouring out of the seventh Bowl Judgment.
B. We now see in more finality the battle in Revelation 19:17:21. This is the end of Antichrist and the False Prophet, the end of the enemy armies, and even Satan will be locked away and unable to trouble population of the earth for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
C. We also find the Battle of Armageddon in Ezekiel 38:18-23, Ezekiel 39:1-6, Daniel 11:45, and Zechariah 14:12—15.
XXVII. We have two time periods mentioned in the Book of Daniel that are not mentioned elsewhere.
A. Daniel 12:11 states that: “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up there will be 1,290 days.”
1. The purpose of the 1,290 days is not stated. The seven years will have ended 30 days earlier at the end of 1,260 days.
a) Some people believe that the sacrifices will resume at the Temple site after 1,290 days. Some believe that the Battle of Armageddon will happen at this time. If it were important for us to know at this time, we would have been told.
B. Daniel 12:12 states that: “Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”
1. This period will end 75 days after the end of the seven years and 45 days after the 1,290 days given in the previous verse.
2. We can safely make some assumption about the blessed people who make it to the 1,335 days
a) No one who is blessed would have fought against Israel. No one who is still alive could fight against Israel. All the fighters must be dead. The Battle of Armageddon must have been fought before the end of the 1335 days.
b) There will be many people who will still be alive after the Battle of Armageddon who will not be allowed to survive into the Millennial reign of Jesus. These will be weeded out at the separation of the ‘Sheep and the Goats’ (Matthew 25:31-46).
3. We can safely assume that anyone who is called ‘blessed’ at this time will enter into the Kingdom of Jesus (Revelation 20:4-6). This Kingdom will include those living at the end of the 1.335 days and those who will be born later.
