As I said in the last lesson, we continue on in Revelation 10 and 11 with several parenthetical passages that describe events ongoing through the second half of the tribulation period. These parentheticals always deal with things not included in the seals, trumpets or vials judgments, but are parallel events that coincide with them. The first is John’s vision of a “mighty angel” in chapter 10. I believe this angel is actually Christ, because of the similarities in both the description of this angel and his actions. This angel: is similarly described in Daniel 10:5-6 and Revelation 1:12-16; He has the book that He took from the hand of God in Revelation 5:5-7, that He broke the seals that bound it in Revelation 6:1 – 8:1 and now that book is opened to reveal its contents; His voice is like a roaring lion indicating Christ as in Isaiah 31:4-5, Jeremiah 25:29-36, Hosea 10:10-11, Joel 3:16 and Amos 3:8; and it is Christ Who directs John what to write and what not to write no less than fourteen times in the Book of Revelation, compare 1:11, 10:4 and 21:5 for example.
There are four main themes in these two chapters. First, John receives the revelation written within the seven-sealed book (all of chapter 10). Then John receives a vision of the capture of Jerusalem by the Antichrist (11:1-2). The third is the account of the ministry of the two witnesses who will oppose the Antichrist during the last half of the tribulation period (11:3-12). And the last is a description of a “great earthquake” (11:13-14), the same earthquake given in greater detail in Revelation 16:17-21 that we will see later.
I’ll just hit a few of the high points of chapter 10. In verse 4 after the seven thunders spoke, John starts to write it down and is told not to. What they said cannot be known. God does not reveal all that is in His plan (Deuteronomy 29:29). In verse 6 the “angel” declares, “there should be time no longer” (King James Version). This phrase has to be interpreted in context by what is said in verse 7, which is a continuation of the thought begun in verse 6. “Time” is chronos, linear time. However, this does not mean that time from this point on will cease to exist. In fact, time is mentioned in the very next phrase with, “but in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet”. Most subsequent translations correctly use “no more delay” or “no more waiting”.
The contents of verse 7 are significant. What will not be delayed any longer? What mystery of God long revealed to His servants the prophets will be accomplished with the sounding of the seventh trumpet? This is the third woe announced by the angel in Revelation 8:13 and 11:14 and described in 12:7-9 when Satan is cast out of heaven to the earth. We’ll have plenty to say about this later when we get to chapter 12.
Then in the last part of chapter 10 John is told to take the book and eat it. It tastes sweet in his mouth, but when he swallows it his stomach becomes bitter. Eating the book is a Hebraism for receiving knowledge. The same principle is found in the Passover and the Lord’s Supper or Communion. Eating the elements involved in the ritual picture the participant’s understanding of what those things represent. Here, truth as it is received from God is sweet. But in this case, the things revealed in that truth are bitter, because they predict great suffering for the people of Israel in this last half of the tribulation period, as we will see.
This brings us to chapter 11. This is the beginning of the suffering I just mentioned with the capture of Jerusalem by the Antichrist. To understand this we must go to Daniel 8:9-14. First of all, when dealing with the various prophecies concerning end-times, understand that the little horn, the king of the north, the man of sin and the beast of the Book of Revelation are all the same, they all refer to the Antichrist. Here, Daniel speaks of the “little horn”. I’m not going to go into detail with this, except to say that this passage speaks of the time when the Antichrist takes away the daily sacrifice from the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. This is when he breaks his agreement with Israel to protect them from the enemies that surround them (see Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15ff) and begins to focus on their destruction as described in Matthew 24 and Revelation 12.
There are several things we need to look at regarding Revelation 11:1-2 for the sake of clarity. The first is that John is told to “measure” the temple, the altar and those who worship there. We know this is symbolic. It would be possible to measure the temple and altar as to its size, but you cannot measure those who worship there. This measuring is actually a “marking out” (metreo) for chastisement. Next, John is told not to measure the outer court of the Gentiles because they are to have control over the temple and the city for the next 42 months (the last half of the 7-year tribulation period). When we look at current conditions, we must recognize that in order for this to take place the Jews have to take control of the temple site now occupied by the Arabs, so they can rebuild the temple. It is this temple that has not yet been built that the Antichrist will desecrate.
Just as a side note, there are 5 temples mentioned in the history and prophecy of the Scriptures. All have been, or will be, built on the temple mount (Mount Moriah) in Jerusalem. The first was Solomon’s temple, built around 957 BC and destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC. The second temple was Zerubbabel’s temple built by Jewish exiles around 520 BC by permission of the Persian King Cyrus. The third was Herod’s temple, actually a restoration and enlargement of the second temple. King Herod wanted to be known as the builder of the most magnificent temple ever built. This temple was completely destroyed by the Roman Titus in 70 AD. Today only a small portion of an outer wall remains and is known as the Wailing Wall. The fourth temple will be built in the future when the Jews again gain control of the temple mount, now occupied by Arabs and their Dome of the Rock mosque. This future temple is the one that will be desecrated by the Antichrist at the midpoint of the tribulation period as explained above. The fifth and final temple is the eternal one built by Christ when He returns to establish His Millennial reign. This temple is described in Ezekiel 40-48 and predicted in Zechariah 6:12.
We’ll continue in the next lesson with the ministry of the two witnesses.