AHH!!! Sorry guys, it's been like 4 months since I've been able to make a post! SO much has happened since then! O_O Summer came and went. I went to Peru for the third time and came back. Started another semester of school, which is SUPER crazy!
But yeah, I'm STILL sloooooowly making my way through this Dr. David Jeremiah book, "Agents of the Apocalypse".
Anyway here are my notes on these 2 Chapters!
Chapter 3
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Revelation 7:1-8 (about the 144,000)
They are:
-Selected from the 12 Tribes of Israel
-Sealed on their foreheads
-Servants of the living God
-Separated unto God
-Strong in faith
-Spared from coming judgment
-Secure in midst of tribulation
-Successful in ministry
-Set apart for the Kingdom
-Singing a new song in Heaven
(from Mark Hitchcock quote)
12000 witnesses from 12 tribes
The number 12 associated with Israel.
Revelation 14 -- seal of protection
God sealed people off from wraths:
-Genesis 6-8 The Great Flood
-Genesis 19 Lot escaping Sodom
-Exodus 12 Sealed firstborn Jews
-Joshua 2, 6 Rahab & Scarlet cord
-1 Kings 19 7000 Israelites who had not bowed to Baal
The seal of the living God will not be merely an external mark; it will also be a moral badge.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22; John 6:27; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30
Revelation 14:4-5, Revelation 6:17-7:3
"In Revelation 14:1-5, John sees the 144,000 at the end of the Tribulation standing triumphantly on Mount Zion -- the city of Jerusalem. Notice he doesn't see 143,999. All 144,000 have been divinely preserved by the Lord. Not one has been overlooked."
2 Thes. 2:3 Falling away
(massive revival AFTER Rapture)
144,000 song incorporated with harps. Harps associate with joy!
Chapter 4
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The 2 witnesses' ministry
*Their Personalities*
-Revelation 11:4; Zech. 4:1-14
-Revelation 11:3 special relationship
Elijah -- because Malachi the prophet predicted that Elijah would come before the Second Advent to prepare the way for the Messiah (Mal. 4:5-6).
Elijah was miraculously taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:9-11) just as the 2 witnesses will be (Rev. 11:12).
The witnesses will have the same power to withhold rain as Elijah did (1 Kings 17:1, Rev. 11:6).
Elijah called down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10) as will the 2 witnesses (Rev. 11:5).
The duration of both the drought in Elijah's day (1 Kings 17:1, Luke 4:25, James 5:17-18) and the ministry of the 2 witnesses (Rev. 11:3,6) is 3 years and 6 months.
Enoch (believed by scholars), Moses more likely -- because Moses appeared with Elijah at the transfiguration of Christ (Mat. 17:3).
God gave Moses the ability to turn the water into blood (Ex. 7:19-20) and the witnesses will be given that same power (Rev. 11:6).
God preserved Moses' body so that he might be restored (Deut. 34:5-7); the bodies of the witnesses will be restored as well (Rev. 11:11).
Satan contended with Michael the archangel for the body of Moses (Jude 1:9). Hindering plan for the last days?
Moses and Elijah stand for the Law and the Prophets. Since the ministry of the witnesses will occur within the Jewish nation, it makes sense that representatives of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) would appear to the Jews.
*Their Prophecies* -- Revelation 11:3
Duration of prophetic testimony: 1260 days
First judgment
Deut. 17:6 -- Why 2: Used to validate truth.
*Their Power*
The power of their preaching
-Jesus Christ is the Lord of all the earth, there shall be no rain.
-Testify of human wickedness to their faces
-Testify of the character of the judgments just past as having been directly from God, and warn of more terrible coming judgments.
-Decry the blasphemous claims, --that man is to be defied, denounce all the goodness of man as a lie.
-Testify that Jerusalem is spiritually "Sodom and Egypt", announce coming judgments upon the city/people, tell the Jews that they killed Jesus (1 Thes. 2:15-16), and that He will yet be the King over all the earth.
Romans 1:18-21 People will demand the witnesses be shot.
The Power of Their Plagues: 3 forms
1. The plague of death -- protected (Rev. 11:5)
2. The plague of drought (Rev. 11:6)
3. The plague of disease (Rev. 11:6)
*Their Persecution* -- Revelation 11:7
(the hands of the Beast -- Anti-Christ)
The Death of the Witnesses
(36 references to the Beast in Revelation)
3 and 1/2 years consolidating governments, forging a peace treaty with Israel.
The murder of the witnesses will be his first celebrated act.
The Display of their Bodies
Deut. 21:22-23 ---> Rev. 11:8
-Sodom: known for sexual perversion
-Egypt: persecution of Jewish nation
Outwardly, Jerusalem will seem better than ever, but inwardly it will reek with rottenness and death, much like Sodom and Egypt.
The Delight of their Enemies
Rev. 11:10 (turned into a holiday)
Only mention of rejoicing during the Tribulation period. (real revelation of the heart of man: delight at the death of God's Witnesses)
-Rev. 11:11-12 2 miracles
Paul describes the Repture of the church occurring in a moment (1 Cor. 15:52), the rapture of the witnesses will be viewed by all. (Rev. 11:12)
Rev. 11:13 earthquake
"They would not allow burial to the slain witnesses, and now they themselves are buried alive in the ruins of their own houses, and in hell forever." -J. A. Seiss
Original text: "men of name" -- leaders/well-known individuals
Joy at the death turns to fear (no change of heart... Rev. 11:13)
