Hi, I'm Robert Jeffress, and I'm glad to serve as your Bible teacher every day on this great radio station. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. The Super Bowl is the single most televised event of the year, and I was just wondering what event would have to happen for the announcer of the game to say, I'm sorry we're going to cut away from the Super Bowl because of breaking news. Perhaps it would be something just like the event we're going to look at today in Revelation 11. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. These days, it seems like every news story starts with these words, breaking news.
And with so many urgent headlines, it's no wonder people get burned out from following current events. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress teaches on a future event described in Revelation that really is deserving of the title, Breaking News. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. I'm glad you're spending this half hour with us as we continue a fascinating study in the book of Revelation that I'm calling Final Conquest. Friends, the time when Jesus will return is near, I believe, and it falls upon every follower of Christ to understand what the Bible says about the end times. And to help you untangle the somewhat complicated stories that are portrayed in Revelation, I've written a book for you. It's called Mysteries of the End Times.
Bible readers are often intimidated when they read the last book in the Bible, especially when they get to the sensational parts in which John describes bizarre images and characters. My book, Mysteries of the End Times, will help you. And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll make sure a copy is sent to your home right away.
Plus, when you respond today, I'll also include a bonus resource. It's my brand new booklet called The Major Characters of the End Times. We'll say more about these two opportunities later, but right now it's time to open our Bibles to Revelation chapter 11 for our study in Final Conquest.
I titled today's message Breaking News. If you have your Bibles, turn to Revelation chapter 11. Look at verse 1. Then there was given me, that is John, a measuring rod like a staff. And someone said, Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar and leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations and they will tread underfoot the holy city for 42 months.
Underline that, 42 months. John was told by a voice, perhaps God, perhaps an angel, to take a rod and measure the temple. But notice something else that is going on, and that is the ministry of the two tribulation witnesses.
And that is the focus of this chapter. Look at verse 3. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1260 days. That's 42 months.
That's three and a half years in sackcloth. While these terrible judgments of God are coming, there will be two witnesses who will proclaim God's truth. And notice their characteristics in verses 4 to 6. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. A lampstand is something that gave light in the darkness.
They were fueled by olive oil that came from olive trees. And that's the nature of these two witnesses. They're giving light in the darkness. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies. So if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. And not only that, verse 6, these have the power to shut up the sky so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying.
And they have powers over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they desire. Look at verse 7. When they, that is the two witnesses, have finished their testimony.
Underline that word, finished. It's only after they have finished their testimony. That Greek word for testimony is the word martyr.
To be a martyr is to give the final testimony of your faith. When they have finished their ministry, the beast that comes out of the abyss will make war with them and overcome them and kill them. This is the first reference to the antichrist in the book of Revelation. It's the first of 38 references to the antichrist.
We'll see a more detailed description of him when we get to chapter 13. He is a human being who is demonically inspired and he will make war with the two witnesses and he will overcome them and kill them only after they have finished their testimony. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is mystically called Sodom in Egypt. What city is that?
John's very clear. It's the city where also the Lord was crucified. This is Jerusalem.
This is Jerusalem. They will be killed and they will be left in the streets and those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. The whole world will be able to see these two witnesses killed and their bodies left in the street to decompose.
Now I want you to think about this. For the first 1900 years of church history, since this was written, nobody knew how this would be fulfilled, this prophecy. How in the world would the whole world be able to look and see what was happening in the streets of Jerusalem? Not until the advent of television 80 years ago did people have a clue about how the whole world can see one event at the same time. But the whole world will be tuned in to this event, the death of the two witnesses. I'll show you why in just a moment. By the way, in July of 2009, 500 million people around the world tuned into the funeral of Michael Jackson.
This will get an even bigger rating than that. People are going to be tuned in and they're going to look at the dead bodies of these two witnesses for three and a half days. Why won't the antichrist allow them to be buried? It's a way of humiliating them and the God they represent. Do you remember in 1993, the Battle of Mogadishu, when Somalian rebels shot down two of our Black Hawk helicopters? And remember one of those soldiers was not only killed, but his body was desecrated, it was drug through the streets in order to bring humiliation to the United States?
That's what's going on here. This is a way of humiliating these two prophets by not allowing them to be buried. Look at verse 10, and those who dwell on the earth, remember that phrase?
Unbelievers. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them. This is the only instance of rejoicing in the whole tribulation. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate.
Why? And not only that, they will actually send gifts to one another. People are going to be so thrilled by the death of these two witnesses that they're going to have their own satanic Christmas celebration, where they start giving gifts to one another. Why would they rejoice over the death of these two witnesses?
Here's why. Because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. What do you mean they tormented those who dwelled on the earth? All they did was speak the word of God.
Ladies and gentlemen, to the unrepentant, rebellious heart, the word of God is torment to have to listen to. And that's why unbelievers want to do everything they can to silence the speaking of God's truth in our world today. Did you see just this week the interview that Cardinal Timothy Dolan had with our Attorney General, Bill Barr, who's a great man of faith himself? Bill Barr was talking about the very real move by the secular left to silence religious speech. This isn't imaginary.
This isn't some campaign stunt. This is real what is going on to silence people from sharing their Christian beliefs. You see, it used to be that the left, those who opposed the things of God, the left wanted an equal voice and an ability to share their opinion.
Nobody argues with that. But the left isn't content with doing that. They want to silence your right and my right to share our Christian perspective because it torments them.
They don't want to hear it. I mean, I was with our great Vice President, Mike Pence, Thursday. Here is a godly, gracious, compassionate man, and yet he has been called by the left a hater, a hate monger. You know why he's a hate monger? Because he has the audacity to believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He has not insulted anybody else.
He has just said, I believe the Bible says marriage should be between a man and a woman. But if you share God's truth, you're called a hater today and your speech has to be silenced because it torments unbelievers. Listen, the word of God is alive.
It's active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts the heart of an unbeliever. An unbeliever knows what it does to him. An unbeliever instinctively knows the power of the word of God to change the lives and the minds of others too. And they think they can silence it.
That's what these people will do. The antichrist and all the unbelievers in the world will think they have victory because they have finally silenced these two witnesses. This is all a fulfillment of something that was written 3,000 years ago in Psalm 79.
Listen to this prophecy from 3,000 years ago. Oh God, the nations have invaded your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the dead bodies of your servants for food to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of your godly ones to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
Isn't that amazing? 3,000 years ago, prophesying what is yet to happen. The unbelievers will think their problems are over with the death of these two witnesses, but the truth is their problems have only begun because of what happens in verse 11. Look at this. Now remember, cameras are trained on these two bodies lying in the streets. You can tune in 24 hours a day and see those two bodies decomposing in the streets. Verse 11, but after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. Can't you just imagine in the middle of the night somebody's tuned in watching this and just sees all of a sudden these two bodies rise up, and they, that is the whole world, heard a loud voice from heaven saying to the witnesses, come up here, and then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. That's the rapture. They get their own private rapture, these two witnesses. We've already been raptured. We've already heard the voice, the shout of the archangel, the trumpet of God that says, come up here.
Aren't you looking forward to hearing that voice? It's coming for those who know Christ. The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.
That's what's gonna happen to these two witnesses. Verse 13, and in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of Jerusalem fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
That doesn't mean they were converted. That means they realized what any imbecile could understand, that God had done something great. They see this great sign, but it's not enough to lead them to repentance. Verse 14, the second woe is past. That is, the sixth trumpet is past. Behold, the third woe, the final trumpet is coming quickly. And it comes in verse 15, the sounding of the seventh trumpet, which signals the beginning of the bold judgments and the return of Jesus Christ. Look at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the announcement of victory in verse 15.
I love this. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. Does that sound familiar to you? You can hear the refrains of the Hallelujah chorus in your mind. This is where George Handel got those words, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ.
What is interesting to me is this. This announcement is made, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God. But the fact is, there's still more tribulation to come. There are seven more bold judgments to come.
The victory is still future only to those of us who are caught in time and space, but to God who sees all things as past, present, and future, the victory has already happened. The kingdom of this world has already become the kingdom of our God. And notice the reaction to that announcement, the offering of praise beginning in verse 16. And the 24 elders who sit on the thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God.
Remember, the 24 elders represent all of God's redeemed, the church and redeemed Israel. And they will be saying, we give you thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign, and the nations were enraged. And your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward your bondservants, the prophets, and the saints, and those who fear your name.
The small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth. While there's gonna be great worshiping in heaven over the announcement that the seventh trumpet has sounded, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God. While there is praising in heaven, there is more rebellion on earth as the nations are enraged at the thought of Christ returning. This is, again, a fulfillment of a psalm from 1000 BC, Psalm 2, verse 1.
Why are the nations in an uproar and the people devising a vain thing? Verse 5. Then God will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury, saying, But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.
Do homage to the Son, that he not become angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are those who take refuge in him. The picture is we are in the final days of the tribulation.
Man's rebellion is increasing. The tribulation judgments are intensifying, but notice the blessed assurance of God's faithfulness that occurs in verse 19. And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
Just as people are thinking things could not get worse here on earth, and those who are redeemed on earth are saying, Where are you, Lord, when we need you the most? Suddenly John says, I saw the heavens open. And although he had seen an earthly temple that he measured at the beginning of the chapter, now he sees the heavens open and he sees the heavenly temple. And he sees in the temple the ark of the covenant. Remember that ark of the covenant? It was the sign of God's faithfulness to his people. It was in Solomon's temple. Then after the destruction of the temple, it was lost. Nobody's ever seen it again except Steven Spielberg in Raiders of Lost Ark. He's the only one who's seen it. We don't know where that ark is, but you know what?
It doesn't matter. Because that ark was just an earthly representation of what's in heaven, the promise of God's faithfulness. In the midst of the tribulation, God is saying to his people, if you can trust me, my promises are certain. What does all of this have to do with our life today?
May I close, I promise, only a few more moments, but this is so important. Let me close with two timeless truths from Revelation 11. Number one, truth number one, God's protection is promised. Obey him. Remember, this was the whole reason for the book of Revelation.
Christians were being persecuted. John is given this revelation to encourage God's people to remain faithful. Obey Jesus, because one day he's coming back to reward the faithful and judge the unfaithful. Obey God.
That's what he's saying here. God's protection is promised. Obey him. Think about those two witnesses. They had a hard task to prophesy in the last three and a half years of the tribulation, but God supernaturally protected them until their mission was completed. The same thing is true for you.
God is calling you, some of you, to obey him in some tough circumstances, to obey him in your marriage, to obey him at your workplace, to obey him in being a witness for him in some difficult circumstances. You can rely on God's protection. Somebody once said, every person is immortal until his work on earth is finished.
You've got the assurance of divine protection until your ministry is finished. That was true of these two witnesses. It wasn't until after their testimony was finished that the beast killed them. Even then, their life wasn't finished.
God raised them up after three and a half days, and he will do the same for you and for me. God's protection is promised. Obey him. Jesus said, don't fear people who can only kill your body, destroy your body. Only fear the one who is able to destroy both your body and your soul.
When you live your life to please God and God alone, it gives you courage. God's protection is promised. Obey him. Secondly, I love this, God's victory is certain. Trust him. His victory is certain.
Trust him. When that seventh angel blows the trumpet, he says the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God. To God, the victory is so certain, it's as if it has already happened. I'll admit, look at me for a moment. I'll admit that to those of us who are trapped in time and space, it looks like evil has the upper hand.
Sickness, broken relationships, bitter disappointments, the death of loved ones. That seems to be the norm for Christians today, doesn't it? But it's only temporary. Our victory is guaranteed and promised by God. We've been using a lot of football analogies today, but perhaps this one will help drive that home to you. You know what the Bible says about the end times? The Bible says that for the final minutes of the end game, Satan will have possession of the ball. He's going to have possession of the ball for the final moments of this earth's history. But it doesn't matter, because Jesus has already racked up so many points on the scoreboard that the victorious outcome of the game is certain.
In fact, it is so certain that the fans are already streaming out of the auditorium. And the same thing is true for us. Satan's victory is absolutely guaranteed not to happen. Our victory is assured. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever and ever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Aren't you glad that God has revealed these glimpses into His plan for the future? By reading John's book of Revelation, we can meet any situation we face with confidence, because we know the end of the story.
In the end, God wins. For this reason and more, I highly recommend that you learn more about Bible prophecy. It will cultivate courage in you.
It will help you endure the chaotic times in which we live. Our countenance changes when we truly see Jesus in all of His glory in the end times. Well, as I mentioned earlier, I've written a brand new book to help you unravel five mysteries that often confound Bible readers. It's called Mysteries of the End Times. In my book, I answer five frequently asked questions. The first one is about America's place in prophecy and whether or not our country will be on the side of Christ or the Antichrist in the end times. The full title of my book is Mysteries of the End Times Five Little Known Truths About God's Plan for the Future. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll be happy to send a copy to your home.
I have one more thing to add today that's on a completely different topic. I'm excited about our upcoming opportunity to vacation with Pathway to Victory. This coming June in 2024, we will be hosting a Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.
Now, the dates are June 15th through 22nd. Our special musical guest will be Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien. We'll enjoy the comedy of Dennis Swanberg, and I'll be teaching from God's Word along the way. We've put together a one-week vacation that promises to restore your heart and help you regain your focus. Take a look at the amazing itinerary and reserve your spot by going to ptv.org.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. To request your copy of the brand-new book Mysteries of the End Times, simply contact Pathway to Victory with a generous gift. Here's the number to call, 866-999-2965, or go online to ptv.org. And when your gift is $100 or more, we'll also include the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the book of Revelation.
Plus, we'll also send you a copy of the best-selling book by Dr. Jeffress called Final Conquest. Call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. Now, you can always write if you'd like, P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. Right now, God and Satan are engaged in a cosmic battle of epic proportions. And next time, Dr. Jeffress will take us to the passage in Revelation that describes the final conflict between God and Satan. Join us Tuesday for Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.
