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. Since this was written, nobody knew how this would be fulfilled, this prophecy. But the Bible indicates the whole world will tune into. 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. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Over the years, there have been countless works of science fiction, imagining what it would be like to break the boundaries of space and time. But for God, bending space and time, well, it's no fantasy. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains that what we see as future, God sees as history. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress? Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Today, I'm continuing to present our study of the book of Revelation called Final Conquest. In a moment, we'll turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 11, as we move through the final book in the Bible together. But first, I'm eager to remind you about a brand new book that's been introduced to the publishing world. It's called Mysteries of the End Times, five little known truths about God's plan for the future.
And if you respond today, you'll be among the very first to receive your copy from Pathway to Victory. No Bible teacher can possibly know the finite details of God's mysterious plan, but the Bible contains far more detail than most Christians realize. And in my new book, I bring clarity to five subjects that baffle many Bible readers. So ask for Mysteries of the End Times when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory.
It comes with my thanks because we could not present this daily Bible teaching program without financial partners like you. In fact, if you respond today, I'll also include my popular new booklet titled The Major Characters of the End Times. In my new booklet, I identify 15 different characters in Bible prophecy and explain why these 15 figures in God's future timeline should make a difference in your life today. Now, let's give our complete attention to this next chapter in John's Revelation of Jesus Christ.
We're looking today at Revelation chapter 11. I titled today's study Breaking News. In the 10 years or so that I've been involved in offering a Christian's perspective on the news on certain topics, I've noticed something that seems to be happening with more and more frequency.
Perhaps you've noticed it as well. Breaking News. I mean, I'll be all prepared for a segment to talk about something that the last minute the producer e-mails me and said, sorry, pastor, we're going to have to bump you because of Breaking News. It seems like news is coming faster and faster, and it's changing more quickly every day. And the result is news gatherers as well as television viewers are left exhausted with all of the Breaking News. The Super Bowl is the single most televised event of the year. And I was just wondering, what would it take, 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?
It'd have to be something pretty big, wouldn't it? Perhaps it would be something just like the event we're going to look at today in Revelation 11 that the Bible indicates the whole world will tune into via television. If you have your Bibles, turn to Revelation chapter 11. Remember, we're in the part of Revelation chapters 6 through 19 that describe the seven final years of earth's history, a period we call the tribulation that climaxes in the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. And God's judgment will come in the form of three series of judgments, the seal judgments, Revelation 6, the trumpet judgments, Revelation 8 and 9, and then finally the bowl judgments in Revelation 16.
We're in those trumpet judgments. We've already seen the sixth judgment, but we're awaiting the seventh trumpet judgments, which includes all of the final bowl judgments in the return of Christ. But between the sixth trumpet and the final seventh trumpet, there's an interlude in Revelation for John to explain some other things about the tribulation we need to understand. And that's where we pick up in chapter 11, verses 1 and 2. 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 those who worship in it, 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. Now, the question is, which temple? The temple of God. You know, when you look at the Bible, there are five different temples in Jerusalem throughout history that have existed or will exist there. Three of those temples have already been built and destroyed. There are two final temples yet to be built. And this will help you understand the Bible more if you understand these five temples.
Let me go through them real quickly with you. First of all, there was the original temple, Solomon's temple, that was built in 966 BC. Remember, God told David that the temple was to be built, but that his son would build it, Solomon.
It took seven years to build Solomon's temple, and it was destroyed in 586 BC when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem. And you remember the Israelites were in exile in Babylon for 70 years, and then the news came that they could leave and go back to Jerusalem, and they wanted to rebuild the temple. And the person who rebuilt it was named Zerubbabel.
I always remember that. It was Zerubbabel who built the temple out of rubble. And he did that in 536 BC.
It took 21 years for Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple. That was the second temple. And then the third temple was Herod's temple. When Rome took control of Israel, Herod the Great didn't destroy Zerubbabel's temple.
Instead, he added to it. He enlarged it greatly to gain favor with the Jewish people. And that began in 19 BC and actually continued to AD 64. And remember, it was during that time that Jesus worshipped in the temple and went to the temple. That was Herod's temple. And that temple was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans themselves to quell an insurrection in Jerusalem. That was Herod's temple. Now, where is the temple today? There is no temple. If you go to Temple Mount, as many of us do when we're in Israel, you'll go up there and you'll see two of the most holy Muslim sites in the world.
The Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. There is no temple. People ask, why don't the Jews offer sacrifices anymore?
Simple reason. There's no temple. You have to have a temple to offer sacrifices. But the Bible says when the tribulation comes, there will be a temple there. There will be a temple during the tribulation.
How do we know that? Daniel 9, 27 talks about the seven-year tribulation. And it says, and he, that is the antichrist, will make a firm covenant with the many, I believe that's a reference not only to Israel but to the nations, for one week, that is seven years, a week of years. But in the middle of the week, middle would be after the first three and a half years, the antichrist will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate even until a complete destruction. One that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate. You remember, as we saw in Revelation 6, that after the rapture, there's going to be chaos in the world and there'll be a leader, a world leader, who without any power struggle at all will be given the power by the nations of the world to bring peace into the world.
He's the figure we commonly call antichrist. And it's obvious, in the middle of the week, it says, he will break his peace covenant with Israel. At the beginning, he will be hailed a hero because he's made peace with Israel and the nations of the world. But at the end of that first three and a half years, he breaks that covenant and stops the sacrifices.
That's only common sense. That means the sacrifices have been going on. That means the temple is already there if he's able to stop the sacrifices. So the question is, how is it that the antichrist is able to succeed in getting rid of that Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock and building a temple for the Jews to worship in?
In the future, there is going to be a world leader who is able to build a consensus, at least temporarily, in the Mideast. Perhaps he will be able to persuade Israel to give up certain things in order to build what they want the most, and that is a temple. You know, there are some Jews today who care nothing about a temple, the progressive Jews. But the fastest growing sect of Judaism right now is the Orthodox Jews. And they desperately want a temple there.
And they're going to get it. And it's going to be because of the shrewd negotiating skills of this world leader known as the antichrist. And that temple will be present during the tribulation. It will be destroyed somehow before the second coming of Jesus Christ. And when Christ sets up his kingdom on the earth, the millennium, there's one final temple. The fifth temple is the millennial temple for a thousand years.
It's described in Ezekiel 40 through 46. Now, that is the temple, the tribulation temple that John is told to measure. Go up and measure the temple. You know, did Jesus know how big the temple was?
No. Let me explain what's going on here. In the Bible, to measure something means to take possession of it, to take possession of it. So he said, get up and measure the temple.
He said, but leave out the court which is outside the temple. That is where the Gentiles are, for they have already taken possession of it. They will tread under the foot, the holy city, for 42 months. Forty-two months is three and a half years. We are in the final three and a half years of the tribulation.
The antichrist has broken his peace covenant with Israel. And by measuring the temple, God is showing that he still possesses it and the people who worship within it. You know, we understand that concept of measuring something to possess it. If you go buy a house right now, before you buy that house, you want a survey of the house that marks out what property you're actually buying. It's a sign of ownership, measuring, surveying what belongs to you. Now you can measure property you own for one of two purposes. You could want to measure it in order that you could destroy it. In Lamentations 2-8, God said, measure Jerusalem for her destruction.
I'll never forget years ago, right before we imploded these facilities, just days before we imploded these facilities and built our great new campus here, I was walking through the old CEB building for the last time. And it was empty, pretty much, except for a workman. And I saw him down there measuring some things. I thought, what is he measuring? We're getting ready to destroy this thing.
I said, what are you doing? He said, well, I'm measuring to see where we're going to put the dynamite that's going to bring this building down. He was measuring it for destruction. Well, that's exactly what God does sometimes. He measures things for destruction, Lamentations 2-8.
But you could also measure something in order to protect it. I don't know if you got any damage during that tornado that went through here a couple of months ago, but it blew our fence down, almost down, and then it fell down, I guess, last week. So we had to get a fence builder out there to build a fence. But before he built the fence, guess what he wanted? He wanted a survey of our land. He wanted to know exactly where the property line was. He wanted to know the measurements of the land that we owed so that he could protect it. And the same thing in Zechariah 2. God says, measure Jerusalem in order to protect her, to build a wall, to protect her.
And I think that's what is meant here. He's saying, measure the city because I'm going to protect it. I'm going to measure and protect not only the temple, but those who are worshiping in it, my people. Now, this is going on during the last 42 months, the last three and a half years.
The Gentiles have already overtaken the rest of the temple and the rest of Jerusalem. But notice something else that is going on during these last three and a half years, and that is the ministry of the two tribulation witnesses. And that is the focus of this chapter. Look at verse three. 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 four to six. 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 so 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. I don't think it's indicating that these two witnesses are dragons. It's simply saying they have supernatural power to protect themselves against the many who would harm them. And not only that, verse six, 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. Now I read this week, commentary after commentary, people speculating who these two witnesses are. They're not named. Some people say, oh, it's Enoch and Elijah. Because after all, those are two prophets who never died. They were raptured.
They were translated into heaven before they died. So this must be Enoch and Elijah. Other people say, no, this is Elijah and Moses.
Because notice the description of their ministry. They had the ability to shut off rain from the earth. That's what Elijah did after his prayer. And then Moses was able to turn the Nile River into blood. It's Elijah and Moses.
My own opinion, and it's just an opinion, is these are actually two human beings who are supernaturally empowered by God, who have a ministry like Elijah and Moses, though it's not Elijah and Moses. By the way, do God's people today have the same power that these two witnesses have to perform miracles? I want you to hear very clearly, I believe God works miracles today. I believe that the power of God to work miracles has not changed. But I think what is true that has changed is God doesn't need human beings to act as an intermediary between him and those he wants to perform miracles for.
I think of Dr. Criswell's famous statement. He said, I believe in faith healing. I just don't believe in faith healers. God doesn't need a middle man.
He can do it directly himself. There have been, though, five periods in biblical history when God has used human beings to perform miracles for some very precise reasons. In fact, there have been five periods of miracle workers in the Bible. The times of Moses and Joshua. The times of Elijah and Elisha. The times of Daniel and his three friends.
Fourth, the times of Jesus' earthly ministry and his apostles, the 12 apostles. And finally, the final period of miracle workers, not of miracles, but of miracle workers will be the time of these two witnesses. Now, notice this word about their death. You know, we think that the martyrdom of Christians is something that was reserved for the first century.
No. Did you know there were more martyrs for the Christian faith in the 20th century than all the other centuries put together? Now that we're in the 21st century, it will get even worse. Open Doors, that is an organization monitoring Christian persecution around the world, says that there are 11 Christians murdered every day because of their faith.
And it's only intensifying. And that will be true during the tribulation as well. 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.
That's why it says, who comes up out of the abyss, the demon who possesses him comes up out of that abode of the abyss we talked about. 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. 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. At Pathway to Victory, we make it our mission to teach whatever the Bible presents. And right now I'm offering a means for you to dig deeper on your own. First, I'd like to send you a brand new booklet from Pathway to Victory in which I describe 15 of the major characters in biblical prophecy, including the one we address today. My booklet is called The Major Characters of the End Times. And second, I'd like to send you a brand new book I've written. It's called Mysteries of the End Times, Five Little Known Truths About God's Plan for the Future.
This is a deep dive on five specific issues that have confused Bible readers for generations. In my new book, we'll explore together the mystery of America in the end times and the mystery of the day of the Lord, just to name a few. So ask for a copy of Mysteries of the End Times when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. When you get in touch today, I'll be sure to include my new booklet called The Major Characters of the End Times as well. These are critical days for our country and our world, and your generous investment in Pathway to Victory is truly making a difference. People are responding in record numbers to this program as they awaken to the realities of God's plan for the future and as they step from the darkness into the glorious light of God's Word. So thanks for giving, especially right now in the heart of the summer when the needs are really the greatest. Don't forget as we come into the weekend that you can watch Pathway to Victory throughout the weekend.
On Saturdays, we're on TBN at noon Eastern time, and on Sunday you can see us on hundreds of stations, including TBN at 10 a.m. Eastern and Daystar at 6 p.m. Eastern. David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. When you support the ministry of Pathway to Victory by giving a generous gift, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of Mysteries of the End Times. That's the brand new book by Dr. Robert Jeffress. You'll get that along with a copy of the booklet titled The Major Characters of the End Times. Call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org.
And when you give an especially generous gift of $100 or more, you'll also receive the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the Book of Revelation. Plus, we'll send you a copy of the bestselling book by Dr. Jeffress titled Final Conquest. One more time, our phone number 866-999-2965 or come see us at ptv.org. If you'd like to write, here's the address. P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins wishing you a great weekend and inviting you back next week when Dr. Jeffress continues our study in Revelation called Final Conquest. That's right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.
When was the last time you escaped the pressures of daily life and refreshed your spirit in the beauty of God's creation? Leave the stress behind and join us for the Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska, June 15th through the 22nd, 2024, with Dr. Robert Jeffress. Beginning from the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, we'll cruise the calm waters of the Inside Passage, coasting along the shorelines of beautiful British Columbia en route to Alaska. Check out the relaxing seven-day itinerary and the special entertainment brought on board just for you at ptv.org. Travel and luxury, refresh your spirit, experience the grandeur of Alaska. Along the way, we'll enjoy the music of Rebecca St. James and Michael O'Brien and the comedy of Dennis Swanberg. I'll also be sharing from God's Word. Sign up for the 2024 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska by going to ptv.org.
