We're seeing it carried out. We're seeing these. Devil-duped people thinking that Israel is going to be pushed into the sea. And they're blinded by a very real Lucifer and his minion that form the Satanic Army. They're very real.
They have power to influence. and fill people with the the Satan. as was Judas Iscariot. Mm. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 11 with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. We are in Revelation chapter 11.
If you have your Bibles, please turn to Revelation chapter 11. We'll hopefully get to verse 6 this morning because there's a lot here in this chapter. Verses one and two, Revelation chapter eleven Then I was given a reed. like a measuring rod, And the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple.
and do not measure it. for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot. For forty two months, Please be seated.
Well, the third temple, that's the title to this section. I couldn't squeeze in more concerning the two witnesses that will also arrive. If we get past verse two. The revelation The book of Revelation, where the abstract and the concrete come together to form. This um profound teaching on what's coming, history, future.
And rather than looking for a strict timeline when reading the Revelation, speaking for myself. I'm more interested in the events themselves. The sequence, some of it is easy to follow, some of it is impossible, and some of it, well, you kind of Just try to guess. And I say that, so in your private readings, if you find that reading the Revelation, this is like a maze. I don't know where we are.
Well, that's okay. You're not alone. We're all like that.
So unless you just start making things up.
So, I'm more concerned with the events, and I do want to give a brief overview that is somewhat of a timeline, not to contradict myself. But let me just give you an overview of How history future is going to take place. The church is raptured. We get the church in chapters one through three. And then in chapter four and five, we see the church in heaven, and then we don't see the church again.
Then the man of false peace shows up, antichrist, and that's. CHAPTER six He Rides On On a White Horse He has an arrow a bow in his hand, but no arrows. And the idea is that he's coming in peace, and he will make a covenant with Israel. Paul says. But when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them.
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman and they shall not escape. And of course that's in the context of the end times.
Well, he's going to make a covenant with Israel. He's going to enter into agreements. And that's always a give and take. They're going to do something for him, he's going to do something for them, and likely he's going to be a big part. Of building that third Jewish temple.
There have been two so far. Both have been destroyed. There is none right now. But there's one coming, and Jesus promised that. I think there will also be, when Antichrist comes on the scene, a challenge to his authority and a move against Israel by a Russian Islamic alliance.
And I think Ezekiel thirty eight Is that war because the characters are different, and there's other differences in the battle. that are uh you you you can only reconcile them if You say, hey, these are two different events.
Well, that would cause Islam to lose a lot of clout. and also give opportunity for many of them to be saved. Because the problem with the third temple is, well, where's it going to go? Who's going to object to it? And if the temple mount if the dome of the rock is Atop of the footprint of the Holy of Holies, they have a really big problem to solve.
And I don't think it's a big problem unless you think that's where the old temple was. I don't believe that.
So the third Jewish temple is rebuilt as we stood and read just a moment. God's measuring the temple out because there's one there now. in the future. Fr from where we are right here. Uh there will be a revival in Judaism when this happens.
a sense of patriotism. They're going to revive their religion. Jerusalem is going to be crowded. with pilgrims coming to this temple.
Well, at that time, when this temple is built, somewhere around that time, God's two witnesses arrive. And these are two extraordinary characters, apart from the 144,000 Jewish witnesses, that will be very active globally. Not just in Jerusalem. There are a lot of Jews throughout the world and Jewish communities. then the great woe of the seventh trumpet, will be blasted.
We don't get to that until chapter 16 when the outcome. We get to it in this chapter. Not this morning. But the outcome of that seventh trumpet doesn't show up till chapter sixteen. And that's the last three and a half years, when the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel, shows his true colors, defiles the tabernacle and just tries to destroy the Jewish race.
And those trumpets will be uh those balls will be dealing with that Third, one of three trumpet woes. We've already covered two of them.
Well, those two witnesses And they will be getting much done. but they will be killed. and they will ascend to heaven in front of everybody. Thanks to technology, that's not a far fetched thought. The abomination of desolation, now I'm not in sequence, they're just happening around the same time.
Jeremiah the prophet said, This is the time of Jacob's trouble. And it most certainly is because, as we've covered already, almost two-thirds of Israel will be wiped out. in this attempt to destroy them. God will miraculously Protect the Jewish people. And we'll revisit some of this as we go through.
Anti-Christ, there is an assassination attempt on his life. Miraculously he survives it. He's severely wounded. This will only lend to the legend of Antichrist among those who have rejected Jesus Christ at that time. And then there is a second beast.
Because the Antichrist becomes the beast. That rises out of the bottomless pit. In fact, that's in verse 7, but we won't get that far. A second beast comes along, he's the sidekick to the Antichrist. He's like his assistant.
And you would get that in. Revelation 13.
So that's a brief overview of whereabouts we are. In chapters 11. through 13. which have also this um These interludes There have been three of them. There are three of them.
We've covered two of them so far. But before I Remind us of what those are. And I hope you're keeping up with this. Mm-hmm. It's vital information and it should be exciting.
It requires, though, you have to be in the Word yourself. If you're depending on the pastor to teach you the Bible alone, Then it's not going to work as well. Anyway, the tribulation judgments that are coming. Uh They will sweep in waves across the globe. Not always connected with each other.
They don't have to be. There might be relative calm in one part of the world whilst chaos in another part, and then it rolls over the other way. And as you're reading through these judgments poured out, you say, oh, it has to be that way, else everybody would be wiped out if it was all centralized in one big event. What is sure? Is that the tribulation period lasts for seven years?
The worst of it, the last three and a half years. And uh At that time, three and a half year time, the anger of Satan is really centered on Israel And Jerusalem the Jewish people Ultimately uh culminating in the uh at the Valley of Migueto. and what we know as Armageddon.
Now, back to these interludes.
Well, we had one in chapter 7 where we had the sixth seal. Opened And then there's this Parentheses, this pause information is given. And then we get to the seventh seal.
Well, when we come to chapter 10, which we covered last session, we have another. pause between the sixth trumpet and the seventh trumpet. And we'll get another one in chapter 12, the seventh trumpet goes off. Toward the end of the 11th chapter, and then it stops again, another pause. Through chapter 15.
And then we get the bold judgments. And so the reason why I'm pointing that out is because as you're reading it as a student, you may miss that these are parentheses giving you information about what's going on with the believers or in heaven. And it that they could just you get a little lost in that possibly.
So here, Revelation 11 through 14 continues the second. interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpet. And we look now at verse one. Then I was given a reed, like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar.
and those who worship there. You notice John is is is not a He's very compliant. When he's told to do something in his vision, he does it. Good for him. Uh anyway Because Revelation, the book.
All the Bible, but And since we're in Revelation, that's central. Because it is about God, saving souls in the mix in the midst of this Awful time in history. It is also about God preserving the Jewish race and Jerusalem. John is bouncing frequently back and forth between events on earth and a scene in heaven. And of course, he is in heaven and he is being shown these things and being instructed to do these things.
He's being put to work. Take the rod you measure.
So John is ordered to measure the temple. He's taking a survey. What belongs to God, what does not. As far as Where these things are going, because everything belongs to God in its absolute sense, of course, but also the altar. and the worshippers.
The people. The Jewish people remain a distinct people even into. The great tribulation period to the end of the world. They retain their identity as the children of Jacob.
Now, this rod, just technical information on this one, some standardized length. I mean, it had to be accurate enough to depend upon it. There's not much to pull out of that this morning. But uh God has used such surveyors and visions to Ezekiel And uh Zechariah. Zechariah measured Jerusalem.
Ezekiel's measuring the millennial temple.
So there's going to be actually a fourth temple. But that's we're getting way ahead of ourselves.
Now would be a good time for a joke. But I don't have any, so we had to keep going.
So, this indicates again God's ownership. Of where this temple is going. And that he plans to do something. And we're reading this. We're reading this, and we're saying, well, God's going to build another temple.
How he does it, who he uses to do it is not detailed for us, but we can... We can take some educated Make some educated guesses on that. At the time John recorded this, at the time he sees this vision, the second Jewish temple is gone. The Romans have destroyed it. There is no Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
When he received this vision. In fact, it's been about 25 years. Since its destruction. And so John is measuring the third temple. Which again currently does not exist, but as Jesus promised, it will.
And the Lord Jesus is, in his promise, he's pointing to the prophets. Those are his prophets. and what they saw he showed them. Centuries before it happened. Before Abraham was, I am, Jesus said to the Pharisees.
So this Uh Third Temple. Which will likely be defiled in the last will be defiled in the last half. uh and bringing about Extreme violence against the Jewish people sacrilege in that temple. Zechariah chapter 12. We all should know this verse as we're seeing it carried out.
We're seeing these. Devil-duped people thinking that Israel is going to be pushed into the sea. And they're blinded by a very real Lucifer and his minion that form the Satanic army. They're very real. They have power to influence.
and fill people with the the Satan. As was Judas Iscariot. Zechariah 12: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
Now this is future. It's ongoing. But it's it's it's not You can't say, well, it's done with, it's history, you know, because it's all the people in the world. That's not happened before. The Babylonians have laid siege on it, or the Assyrians have, the Romans.
But not the world.
So he continues. Coming back, cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples. all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces. though all the nations of the earth are gathered against it.
Well, I mean, again, that's not happened. Not all the nations. of the earth have gathered against Israel, but they will. Don't doubt your Bible. Because, I mean, we're seeing this happen in sort of deposits, prophetic deposits.
God saying, you see how simple, you see how easy this is going to happen? And we're seeing it. Daniel chapter 9.
Now, Daniel speaks about Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a Syrian leader who hated the Jews, committed blasphemies. But he also weaves into the prophecies concerning Antiochus These things that he could not have fulfilled that are coming.
So, Antiochus Epiphanes, that historical figure, is a type. Of the Antichrist to come, the beast to come. And so, whatever you read about Antiochus, Epiphanes, and Daniel. He's sort of just uh a prelude. To the beast that is to come.
And so then Daniel's prophecies begin to make sense. They begin to go beyond the days of Daniel.
So much of Daniel's prophecies do. Daniel 9. then he shall confirm a covenant With many for one week.
Now that's a metaphor for a year, seven days in a week, seven years, sorry. Each day of the week is a year. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering, and on the wings of abomination shall. Be one who makes desolate even until the consummation. See, it cannot be Antiochus.
to the consummation, to the end of the age. The end of human government when Christ comes back with the second coming.
Now I do have a list of things I mean to talk to these prophets about. Why couldn't he just say seven years? Why the code, Daniel?
Okay, we're not going to get into that now. Matthew, Jesus now speaking. Pointing back to Daniel, he says, Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. There's more to this. When the Romans destroyed the second Jewish temple, they did not commit direct sacrilege.
They did not go in and offer a pig. There was war. and they destroyed it in in the midst of war.
So Jesus says there's going to be the abomination desolation that Daniel talked about, didn't happen when the second temple was destroyed. That means it has to happen at the third one, the very temple we're talking about here in verse 1. Paul rings in on this. Paul writes this while the second temple is still there, but he's speaking beyond it. He says, of the Antichrist who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worship, so that he.
Such as God in the temple of God. Showing himself. That he's God. Who is this chump? That's kind of what Paul sounds like.
It's coming out to me. Anyway, can you say chump from the pulpit? Yeah, that one's okay.
So uh coming back to Paul. Even Paul is looking beyond. The temple, the second temple. that existed while he wrote that to the Thessalonians. assuring believers that we won't be here.
for all of this to happen. One more from Daniel. Daniel 12 and from The time that the daily sacrifice is taken away. Wait a minute, what daily sacrifice?
Well, that's why John is told: measure the altar. Because they're going to be offering sacrifices again.
So he says from the time that the sacrifice is taken away, And the abomination of desolation is set up. There shall be One thousand Two hundred ninety days. 42 months. Essentially, as we've stood and read.
So these are connected, all of this, if you want to have an end time view. You gotta have knowledge of Ezekiel and Daniel and Thessalonians and Matthew 24, just to name a few. Because God has scattered it. Throughout his scriptures, sort of like he's hiding these little puzzle pieces. It's like, you know.
Let's make it a game. Uh anyway.
So now we come back to the altar, the brazen altar, not the golden altar, which As you study scripture, if you dig into that, you've got to start making the distinction between the two because there's a lot of difference with them. But the Incense altar would have been out of sight of the people. It would have been in the holy place. Of the brazen altar would be outside in the court of the Jews or the uh of the of the Yeah, of the Jews. as opposed to the court of the Gentiles.
Uh considering the second temple in the days of Jesus.
Well, the next clause indicates it is open to worshipers, not only the priest, and that means it's the brazen one.
So events of verses one and two. Precede the beast. who's coming from the bottomless pit. We get again get that in verse 7. That means the temple is built before Antichrist goes full-blown devil.
But then once it's built. He he does become Possessed by Satan. And he does defile the temple, as I've been reading from the prophets and from the Lord.
So the Jews get their third temple, and the beast will. Defile it. and the Jews will flee. Jesus, don't even go back in the house for a sweater. Just get out of there.
Because before Antichrist makes his move, he's already setting up roadblocks. He's already doing what he needs to do to keep people from getting away from him. What is with these dictators? They put up an iron or wall so you can't leave their country. I mean, why?
Don't they? Don't they? Feel like, well, if you don't like me, then go. No, it's like if you don't like me tough, you're going to suffer. I need to enslave you.
Well, coming back, well, decent people say, well, if you don't like me. Flatten your tires. Anyway, back to this, and those who worship there. Again, what a national sense of pride will fill Israel. Maybe more than 1948 when they got back into the land, because that was.
Spiritual slash secular, this is totally spiritual for them to have their temple. In the courtyard attendants of the third temple, will be astounding. Antichrist is going to see that. He's going to hate them, the Jews, and try to slaughter as many of them as he can.
Well, These worshippers incidentally are not said to be true worshippers. We know they're Jews. They could even be proselytes, Gentiles who joined the Jewish faith. But it doesn't they're j they're worshipers. which means they're just religious people.
They're not converts. Which is why you have the 144,000 Jews and the two witnesses coming on the scene to get. Out of that number as many converts as you can of the Jewish people.
Now there might be Some Christians, who, if given the chance, they would go to a Jewish temple and offer sacrifices, and you'd be sinning big time. This is what Paul said about that affair. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. You see that? He draws this big line between the two.
It is the Jewish temple that was still there when Paul wrote that. And he said to the Jewish Christians and anybody else, You name Christ as your Lord and Savior. Don't you dare go down to that temple. It's done. Christ has fulfilled it.
He is our altar. He is our Passover. We don't that stuff was all speaking of him. He's here now.
So, anyway, coming back to this, the rebuilding of the temple gives the two witnesses. more prophetic evidence for their evangelistic message. Whereas the 144,000 Jews would be pointing to all the events taking place. These two seem to be centered on Israel and would be saying, even our temple was prophesied about, and it's going to get defiled. And they'll be using these things.
God's not done saving people when the church gets raptured. Otherwise, why send the two witnesses? Why send the one on? Why not just burn them all up? Because he's about saving souls, and Satan is committed to damning souls to the hell that he is going to.
And once you begin to understand that, You d you don't have too much of a problem with what happens after death. What happens in this life? Many will convert, not all, in fact most probably won't, of the Jewish people. But it will be, they will pull on in their preaching what Peter did. Peter in Acts chapter 2 said, This is what the prophet Joel spoke about.
It was an appeal to their understanding of their own scripture. It was Peter saying, This isn't A random event? This is prophecy being fulfilled and you're living it. And everything concerning the Christ, prophetic. Yeah.
This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube.
There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello.
