Chapters 10 and 11 go together - and are part of a parenthesis - all the way through chapter 14. We are at a pivotal point - between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. There was a similar pause between the sixth and seventh seals. Revelation, you remember, is based on 3 sets of 7 judgments - seals, trumpets, and bowls. Chapter 12 gives us a different perspective on why God is doing what He is doing in Revelation.
Verse 1
Some think this angel is Jesus Christ. Jesus is never called an angel in the New Testament. Likely it is an angel like Michael or Gabriel.
Verse 2
This scroll is different than the one in chapter 5. Standing on the earth and sea represents the whole earth. What is happening here is invisible to those on earth -what is taking place is in the spirit realm.
Verse 3 - 4
So here’s John recording all this stuff - like a reporter on the scene, but when he wants to write down what the 7 thunders say - he is prohibited. Daniel too is told in chapter 12 of his book to not write down what he heard but to seal it up. God only tells us what we need to know, not always all we want to know.
Verses 5 - 7
No more waiting, no more delay. God will now move. Scoffers have used God’s patience as an excuse not to believe for millennia.
What is the mystery of God? There are a couple of possibilities. It could simply mean that as Jesus Christ returns to earth, God will no longer be invisible, no longer absent, no longer seemingly inactive in the affairs of men. People will no longer have to guess about whether there is a God or what He wants. The second is that it could be a fulfillment of the two great mysteries Paul the Apostle wrote about: The first is that the church becomes joined with Israel (Ephesians 3:6) the other is that in the end all authority will be brought under Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). It could be this second mystery the angel is referring to.
Verses 8 - 11
So now John is told to take and eat this little scroll. We saw something very similar happen in Ezekiel 1-2 where the prophet is told to eat a scroll and it was sweet in his mouth - but then he is told to speak for God some pretty hard things to God’s people in Babylon. So here we may have a symbolic or spiritual description of taking in the Word of God then proclaiming it - the bitter in your stomach part means the message is difficult, even though everything God speaks is good (sweet).
So now in chapter 11 the focus goes back to earth and what’s happening.
Chapter 11 Verses 1 - 2
This refers to an earthly temple in Jerusalem. Many people do not think the Temple will ever be rebuilt, however, there are fundamentalist Jews who think otherwise - and as soon as they get the opportunity - they plan to rebuild the Temple and restart sacrifices.
How will this happen? Well - Daniel suggests it:
Daniel 9:27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."
The "he" here is the Anti-Christ. This world ruler will come into power partly by solving the Middle East crisis - and by giving the Jews a Temple. In the middle of his 7 year treaty he will go into that Temple and proclaim himself to be god - something called the Abomination of Desolation. You can’t have that happen without a Temple.
If you have been to Jerusalem you know that on the Temple mount now is something called The Dome of the Rock Mosque. It is Islam’s second holiest site - supposedly the place where Mohamed ascended to heaven. Muslim’s will defend this place to the death. Some suggest that the real location of the Temple Holy of Holies was nearby under a place called, I believe, The Dome of the Spirits. So this leads to the possibility that an agreement will be struck - build the Temple there, but leave out the outer gate - thus the leaving out of the court of the Temple - for the Dome of the Rock.
Trampling the city of 42 months is the period called the Great Tribulation - the latter half of the Tribulation: 3 ½ years of absolute horror - until Jesus physically returns across the valley on the Mount of Olives, ending the Anti-Christ’s reign forever.
Verse 3
Also on the scene at this time are two people - with special powers and a special message. Who are they? We don’t know exactly but there are some hints. We do know that their ministry lasts for 1,260 days - or 3 ½ years. Their message is one of repentance - thus the sackcloth.
Verses 4 - 6
Okay - we have some symbolism here but I don’t think it is just symbols - these are two real guys. But they are called "olive trees" and "lampstands." We find this in Zechariah chapter 4. (turn there). The lampstand Zechariah sees is a Menorah - the lampstand of the Temple. They are also symbolized as two olive trees - olive oil was used in the lampstands. Zechariah is told that it is by God’s Spirit that this will be accomplished - then in verse 14 the branches are identified as "anointed ones."
In short - two powerful guys will appear on the scene and preach repentance to the world by God’s Spirit. They do basically three things to their enemies: fire from heaven, shut up the sky so no rain, and turning water to blood. This should remind you of two people: Moses and Elijah.
Interestingly - two things make further suggestion that these are the guys here. One is the fact that neither of these two prophets died in the normal sense. Elijah was carried to heaven on a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Moses died (Deut 34:7) but in Jude 8 it says that Michael the arch-angel disputed with Satan over the body of Moses. Could it be that these two appear on the scene - one representing the Law and the other the prophets?
Further evidence - Mark 17:2 - on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus appeared in His glory - who stood with him? Moses and Elijah. And don’t forget Malachi 4:5 - "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes."
So anyway - these guys are indestructible until it is time.
Verses 7 - 10
After three and half years - halfway through the Tribulation - someone called "the beast" will be able to kill them. This is the first of 36 references to The Beast - otherwise known as The Antichrist. After the Antichrist declares himself god, one of the first things he’ll do is kill the Two Witnesses - and the world will party as CNN shows their bodies on the streets of Jerusalem (spiritual Sodom - where the crucifixion happened). But don’t count them out just yet.
Verses 11 - 13
Woe - what a sight! An earthquake also accompanied the resurrection of Jesus Christ - who was dead for three days as well. Those that hold the position that believers will be "raptured" midway through the Tribulation use this as an important proof text. I frankly don’t see anyone else being resurrected here so it will be a really small rapture if it is one.
Notice that those that were not killed in the earthquake gave glory to God - we don’t really know if this is true repentance or just foxhole conversion.
Verse 14
The eagle (or angel) at the end of chapter 8 said there would be three "woes" - the first was in 9:1-12 the plague of demon-locusts. The second "woe" was the last half of chapter 9 - the four angels and terrible war. The third "woe" is likely the battle of Armageddon, which begins when the 7th angel sounds - next.
Verses 15 - 18
Verse 15 should be familiar - it is part of Handel’s Messiah. The coming of Jesus is now so certain that there is no turning back. This trumpet unleashes the last of God’s judgments against a sinful and rebellious world - no longer partial, they will be complete in their judgment. This trumpet announces the coming of a King - THE King - the Lord Jesus.
Verse 19
John is not seeing a literal ark in a heavenly temple - Chapter 21 tells us that there will be no temple in the New Jerusalem because The Lord Himself is the Temple. The Ark always represented God’s presence - it was a symbol of a heavenly reality. So John is seeing God’s presence - that presence is about to come to earth!
In Chapter 12 we take a break from the action of Revelation. It’s like John pulls back from the storms on earth to show us the real cosmic storm going on in the heavenly dimension. Chapter 12 also introduces us to the main characters of the Tribulation:
Verses 1-2
The woman John sees is a "great sign." So her significance is more than just that of a woman. She represents Israel - notice the 12 stars representing the 12 tribes of Israel. We see imagery like this in Joseph, son of Israel’s dream in Genesis:
Genesis 37:9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me. (11 stars + Joseph = 12)
The woman is seen as pregnant - as we’ll see she is pregnant with the Messiah.
Verse 3
The dragon, as we’ll see in verse 9 is identified as Satan. The dragon is seen here as having authority over men and governments - that’s what the horns and crowns are about. In this case it is Rome of the 1st century. Satan controlled Herod, who tried to kill Jesus - the Child of the woman Israel. John 14 describes Satan as the "ruler of this world."
Verse 4
The represents the fall of Satan. We see this fall foretold in Isaiah:
Isaiah 14:12-15 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star , son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ’I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol…"
So you can also see the "stars" refer to angels. When Satan fell, he took with him 1/3 of all the angels who became demons. Angels, unlike humans, have free will but no redemption. Once an angel decides to rebel against God it is a once in eternity choice. Unlike humans, they are not deceived - but make the choice knowing full well what it means.
So then, after Satan’s fall - his chief aim is to thwart the redemption of humans by God. He hates God and everyone who would belong to Him. So when God planned to bring the Messiah - yes, Satan reads the Bible too and knows it better than you do - he stood by to kill Jesus.
This happened in the earthly sphere as Herod killed the children of Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2:16). But Jesus was one step ahead of him, as we’ll see.
Verse 5
Some people try to argue that the woman is the church - but clearly the only one who will reign over the nations with a rod of iron is Jesus - Jesus birthed the church, not the other way around. So here is Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension all in one phrase.
Verse 6
Between verses 5 and 6 some 2,000 years pass. Remember that the prophetic clock on the woman, Israel, stopped after she rejected Jesus as the Messiah. But as we saw in chapter 7 the nation comes back to Jesus (the 144,000). Daniel’s "70 weeks of years" clock starts back up after pausing at 69 weeks - and for the 1st half of that final week of years the Jews have peace. But as Daniel prophesied, 3 ½ years into the peace treaty a Satan-inspired world ruler (the Beast we’ll see in a minute) attacks Israel with a vengeance.
Jesus talked about this time in Matthew 24:
Matthew 24:15-16 "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…
So what happens? Some feel the Jews flee to Petra in modern Jordan. (Isaiah 26:20 suggests it). Luke tells us that the Anti-Christ’s armies will surround Jerusalem, but the Jews will escape. Petra is a rock city that is easily defended. There is no clear prophecy saying it is Petra, but that is a very likely possibility. The Jews are protected there for 3 ½ years until the Lord Jesus returns physically to the earth.
So now we look at the story again, in more detail this time, through the end of the chapter.
Verses 7 - 10
It may surprise you to know that Satan had access to heaven. Job 16 talks about this, for instance. But at some point - perhaps after the resurrection, perhaps here, midway through the Tribulation, Satan is finally thrown out of heaven.
Notice that the battle is not between God and Satan, or Jesus and Satan but between Michael and Satan. It is two angels of similar rank, and their soldiers, that are at war.
"Ancient serpent" reminds us of Lucifer’s role in the Garden of Eden, where man fell and he gained control of the earth by deception ("deceiver of the whole world").
Devil means "slanderer" and Satan means "accuser" - Jesus told us that when he lies is speaking his native language (John 8:44). Jesus also told us that Satan comes for only three purposes: to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Why would anyone serve him? Because he is also a deceiver - the master con man.
Verse 11 - 12
So this is a hymn of praise for the defeat of Satan - but a warning that now that he no longer has access to heaven, he is confined to earth and boy is he mad! Do you find it odd that Satan would continue in his actions knowing that he will ultimately be punished for all of eternity? His hatred for God is that great.
Verses 13 - 17
So now we focus back on the midpoint of the Tribulation, when Jesus warned the Jews not to go back into the house but flee for the wilderness. Satan attempts once again to wipe out God’s people - the nation of Israel.
The eagle here represents divine protection (see Exodus 19:4, Psalm 91:4, Isaiah 40:31).
The "water" of verse 15 is either a flood of lies and deceit or a flood of persecution - but there is some natural phenomenon that protects the people fleeing - perhaps the "earth opened its mouth" suggests the rock city of Petra, hiding Israel.
Notice that Satan has never forgiven Israel for giving birth to the Messiah - nor anyone who belongs to the Messiah - that includes you. Satan hates you, by the way, and would kill you if he could, but he can’t.
So here Satan goes to hurt anyone on earth who believes in Jesus - it doesn’t pay to be a Tribulation Saint - so get saved now!
The end of verse 17 could be connected with 13:1 "And I stood on the sand of the sea … and I saw a beast…" But most likely this refers to Satan. The "sea" here represents the abyss from which the locusts of chapter 9 came from. Or it could mean the mass of humanity out of which the Anti Christ rises. So Satan is calling on help to assist him in his task of fighting the woman and her offspring - the two that he calls are the Anti Christ and the False Prophet. Together they make up the unholy trinity - the dragon (the father), the antichrist (the son), and the false prophet (the unholy spirit).
Conclusions
Everything God says is sweet - even though it goes down bitter as we realize how much we need Him to change us - but don’t let that stop you from hearing His word.
God always has a witness - and maybe you don’t call down fire from heaven, but you are a witness for him where you live and work - simply be who God made you to be - don’t hide the light. You have power too - the power is in God’s Word and in what He has done in your life.
You have an enemy - never forget that - but you also have a champion that is greater than that enemy. He will protect you, even if things appear to be going wrong (the flight out of Jerusalem).
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