The Strong Delusion-Part 6: Rev Commentary Continued

THE STRONG DELUSION—PART 6

The Continuing Synopsis of the Revelation as a Historical Prophecy

7-5-2019

A Continued Unmasking of the Revelation Misunderstanding – The Third Layer of Delusion as Proposed in:  https://freedomfromdelusion.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-strong-delusion-part-1.html

The misunderstanding that the Revelation written by John is actually a blueprint of the events that will occur during the tribulation period.  Fomented by the Scofield Study Bible the understanding by the Church Fathers was changed to a literal interpretation of real events that will occur during a future seven year tribulation period.

The Revelation was originally understood as a prophetic history of the Church age, from the beginning of the teachings of Jesus to the Millennial Kingdom of God.

The Protestant Reformation, beginning with Luther, did not regain the early Church fathers knowledge of the purpose of the Revelation because it had long ago vanished.

At what point the Revelation was viewed as a literal chronology of tribulation period events is unknown to a certain point.  It occurred after Darby’s dispensational theory was employed within Scofield’s note filled study Bible, but the exact timeline of a literal Revelation, the misinterpretation of the 70 weeks, and the misunderstanding of the state of Israel as a fulfillment of all Bible prophecy is not certain.

The following snippets of Revelation commentary were extracted from the series of commentaries written by Dr. Stephen Jones.

The Two Witnesses

In Revelation 11: 3, 4 we read,

3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

In the flow of John’s revelation, we see that the outer court of the temple has been given to the nations. This outer court is in “the holy city,” which is the term John uses later for the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven (Rev. 21: 2). Again, in Rev. 11: 19 he speaks of opening “the temple of God which is in heaven.” There is no question, then, that John’s temple is a spiritual temple and that the holy city is the New Jerusalem.

On the other hand, this spiritual temple is here on earth, because the living stones are true believers who are living on the earth.

The first structures were physical as seen in Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. But these were never meant to be permanent. They were types and shadows to be seen as object lessons to teach us of spiritual things. The greater temple yet to come was to be made of living stones, originating in heaven, but being built and expressed on the earth. This was to be done by the work of the Holy Spirit in people on earth.

In the three parts of our temple, the Most Holy Place is our spirit; the Holy Place is our soul; the outer court is our body, that is, our flesh. As believers that are part of the temple of God, our flesh is subjected to the spirit, which is in turn yields to the Holy Spirit’s leadership. However, unbelievers, that is, “the nations,” are limited to the outer court, because they are yet fleshly until they have been begotten by God. So they are drawn to the outer court in order to see the light of truth borne by God’s witnesses.

The nations in their fleshly condition are carnal, unruly, and restless, for they must come as they are in order to see the light of truth. They are pictured as the sea that is constantly tossed. Isaiah 57: 20, 21 says,

20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

The great harlot sits upon the waters of the sea, and in Rev. 17: 15 we read,

15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.”

The Witnesses are Lampstands

There are two lampstands in John’s temple (one lampstand in Moses’ tabernacle (Exodus 25: 31), and ten in Solomon’s temple (2 Chron. 4: 7)).

The prophet (Zechariah) sees seven lamps on a single lampstand, as we see so often today in a menorah. But he also sees “two olive trees by it,” whose function is to produce olive oil for the lampstand.

Zech 4:2 And he [the angel] said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; 3 also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.”

If we look at the things that the prophet was already shown in the previous verses, we can get a better and more complete answer.

Zerubbabel, the First Son of Oil In Zech. 4: 6, 7 we read of one of the “sons of oil” in that time. It is Zerubbabel, the governor.

6 Then he answered and said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of Grace, grace to it!’”

As a son of oil, Zerubbabel was a type of Christ in his civil calling, or in his exercise of the Dominion Mandate.

In the third chapter of Zechariah we are shown the other son of oil. We see the high priest Joshua being given clean garments so that he could minister in the temple. Between the governor and the high priest, we see the two sons of oil who are called to feed the lampstand with oil in order to give light to the people. The governor exercised the Dominion Mandate (Gen. 1: 26), while the high priest exercised the Fruitfulness Mandate (Gen. 1: 28). Together, they portrayed the complete birthright which ultimately belongs to Jesus Christ Himself.

The purpose of these “two witnesses” is to supply the oil for the lampstand by which the light of the word may spread throughout the whole earth. Hence, they are depicted as “two olive trees” in Zech. 4: 3 and again as “two olive branches” in Zech. 4: 12.

John sees it in a slightly different way, for he sees “two olive trees and the two lampstands” in Rev. 11: 4. Zechariah sees two olive trees and just one lampstand. Nonetheless, it is clear that in order to understand John’s revelation, we must compare it to Zechariah’s prophecy. Zechariah pictures the lampstand as separate from the olive trees, whereas John pictures two distinct lampstands, which are the two olive trees.

In other words, in John’s vision, we see two witnesses each portrayed as an olive-tree/ lampstand, as if their source of oil is now internal. Yet it is clear that these two witnesses carry the Dominion Mandate and the Fruitfulness Mandate in the earth, and that their calling is to minister not only to the believers, but to the nations in the outer court. Their ministry is to share the light of Christ to the nations.

Next we will see how the two witnesses relate to Moses-Joshua and Elijah-Elisha.

Moses and Elijah

The two witnesses in Rev. 11: 4 are described as being two olive trees and two lampstands, in order to fulfill the prophecy of Zech. 4: 11. They are filled with the Spirit of God, which is the olive oil by which the lampstand shines forth the light of truth.

The children of the Old Covenant persecute those who are of the New Covenant.  Each side claims that its form of fruitfulness, whether by flesh or by spirit, is the acceptable qualification to be known as Sons of God.  The struggle over the inheritance often manifests in open conflict and warfare. Rev. 11: 5 says,

5 And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner he must be killed.

These two witnesses do not literally kill their enemies with fire from their mouths.  The fire of God coming out of the mouth of Christ, the two witnesses, and, in fact, the entire body of true believers, is a spiritual sword that brings “death” to the flesh in order to bring about its consequence— immortal life.

Under the New Covenant, however, the sword of the Spirit (in this case i.e. the fire of God’s Word) must be used by the spoken word of God to conquer the earth in a very different way. New Covenant swords kill the flesh, but not the body.  This, then, is the “fire” that proceeds out of the mouths of the two witnesses to devour their enemies.

The Authority of the Witnesses

John continues in Rev. 11: 6,

6 These have the power [exousia, “authority”] to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.

First, these two witnesses received the authority given in earlier times to Elijah and to Moses. Authority from heaven is given to exercise the Dominion Mandate as a steward of the throne.

Elijah, too, exercised spiritual authority over King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, forbidding the sky to give rain upon the earth for “three years and six months” (James 5: 17). This time can also be expressed as 1,260 days or 42 months— which is the time allotted to the two witnesses in Rev. 11: 2.

In long-term prophecy, the two witnesses are represented by many people over many generations, for no one has lived 1,260 years. The overcomers and the martyrs are certainly part of this body of witnesses in the general sense.

The question, however, is whether or not two individual witnesses, having the authority of Moses and Elijah, will arise at the end of the age. Our opinions may vary, but if we study these prophecies, we will be able to understand if and when two such witnesses arise.

The most important thing to recognize is that these two witnesses are called to bear witness to Christ, who is the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9: 15). Therefore, we must view their actions through New Covenant eyes, rather than looking for a duplicate of what occurred during the time of the Old Covenant.

The “plagues” which they bring to the earth are designed to overthrow the gods of all flesh under Mystery Babylon in order to set the earth free from the great harlot— the counterfeit bride.

In particular, John mentions the first plague, where all the water of Egypt was turned to blood. In other words, blood covered the land of Egypt. This was a physical disaster under the Old Covenant, but under the New, it prophesies of the blood of Christ covering the whole earth.

This is the purpose of the fiery word that comes out of the mouth of the two witnesses. It is not to kill, but to restore all men to the Father through Christ.  Although the Old Testament Elijah called down fire from heaven in 2 Kings 1: 10, 12, consuming two groups of fifty soldiers, this is not to be duplicated by the two witnesses. When Jesus’ disciples wanted to imitate Elijah and call down fire from heaven upon the Samaritans, Jesus rebuked them in Luke 9: 55 for having an Old Covenant mentality.

In fact, the main prophetic ministry of Elijah, as seen in Mal. 4: 6, is to “restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” Jesus Himself told His disciples in Matt. 17: 11, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things.”

Therefore, we see that the purpose of the two witnesses is to restore, not to destroy. When Elijah sealed up the heavens so that it would not rain for 3 ½ years, it was a prophecy about delaying the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is designed to give people a thirst for the Spirit of God and prepare them for the “times of refreshing” (Acts 3: 19) that will come afterward.

Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem

John pictures the two witnesses in terms of Moses and Elijah, who represent the law and the prophets, civil and priestly authority, and the Dominion Mandate and the Fruitfulness Mandate. Yet this revelation is three-dimensional in that Moses and Elijah each represent just half of a full ministry. Joshua fulfilled the second part of Moses’ ministry, and Elisha fulfilled the second part of Elijah’s ministry.

First, Moses was unable to complete his ministry, for he died at the end of the wilderness journey, and Joshua completed the work when he brought Israel into the Promised Land. Elijah too was unable to complete his ministry, for he ran from Jezebel’s threats, but Elisha was then given his mantle along with a double portion of Elijah’s authority in order to complete this prophetic work of restoration.

In Revelation 11 we see a blend of prophecy between Moses and Elijah in the death of the two witnesses, followed by their resurrection and ascension. Moses died (Deut. 34: 5), and Elijah ascended (2 Kings 2: 11). Hence, the two witnesses die as Moses but also ascend as Elijah. Revelation 11 largely ignores the second part of each of their ministries (i.e., Joshua/ Elisha), because the end has not yet come in John’s narrative. This is still technically part of the second woe, which does not end, nor does the third and final woe begin, until Rev. 11: 14.

The Witnesses Killed in Jerusalem

We read in Revelation 11: 7, 8, 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically [or spiritually] is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Here we see plainly that John was not speaking literally, but “mystically.” The two witnesses are not literally killed in Jerusalem, as so many have said. Jerusalem is also “Sodom and Egypt,” and it is plain that geographically speaking, Jerusalem is not literally the city of Sodom, nor is it the entire country of Egypt. John was telling us to interpret this spiritually (pneumatikos, from pneuma, “spirit”). So we must follow his instructions and look to a mystical city.

In the prophetic picture presented by John, Jerusalem has taken on a greater role than just an earthly city. The city is a type of the Old Covenant (Gal. 4: 24, 25), pictured as Hagar, and her spiritual children are the children of the flesh (pictured as Ishmael). The earthly Jerusalem cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, for this is reserved for the children of “Sarah,” the heavenly Jerusalem (Gal. 4: 26, 30).

Knowing these things helps us to understand what John meant when he spoke of the two witnesses being killed in “Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” It is obvious that these witnesses were not killed in (or by) the New Jerusalem. In fact, the entire scene since the start of the chapter has taken place in the outer court which was “given to the nations.” In other words, we are seeing unbelievers or carnal people who are limited to the outer court, and the earthly Jerusalem itself is an extension of that outer court.

Because Jerusalem is linked to Egypt, known as “the house of slavery” (Exodus 13: 3), any child of the flesh and anyone who adheres to the Old Covenant (as Paul says) remains “in slavery with her children” (Gal. 4: 25). Hence, even as Moses led Israel out of the house of bondage at Passover, so also did Jesus Christ lead the church out of bondage when He died on the cross as the Passover Lamb.

The prophet set forth the hostility of God in Isaiah 29: 1-6, where he refers to Jerusalem by the poetic name, Ariel. This name has a double meaning: (1) the lion of God, and (2) the hearth of God.

1 Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped! Add year to year, observe your feasts on schedule. 2 And I will bring distress to Ariel, and she shall be a city of lamenting and mourning; and she shall be like an Ariel [hearth of God, i.e., a place of burning] to me.

During the time of David, the city was the Lion of God; but in later years, after degenerating into lawlessness and apostasy, God became their enemy and treated it as a hearth for burning. What follows is a prophecy showing God’s destruction of Jerusalem. Still addressing the city, God says in Isaiah 29: 5, 6,

5 But the multitude of your enemies shall become like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; and it shall happen instantly, suddenly. 6 From the Lord of hosts you [Jerusalem] will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

Many assume that this is about non-Jewish nations fighting against the Jews in Jerusalem at the end of the age. But from the outset, God tells us that He Himself has declared war against the city on account of its lawlessness. In verse 3 God says of Jerusalem, or “Ariel,”

3 And I will camp against you encircling you, and I will set siegeworks against you, and I will raise up battle towers against you.

The Beast from the Abyss

So who are these witnesses in Revelation 11, and what is the time frame of their ministry? Who kills them, and when? We find our first major clue in Rev. 11: 7, which says,

7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.

John says the two witnesses are to be killed by “the beast that comes up out of the abyss.” What beast is that? The answer is found earlier in Rev. 9: 2 in the time of the first woe, where the fifth angel “opened the bottomless pit,” that is, the abyss. We have already seen that this spoke of the rise of Mohammed and his new Islamic religion.

Recall that God raised up Islam to judge the church for its idolatry, murder, sorcery, and immorality (Rev. 9: 20, 21). Essentially, the church had taken on the characteristics of the earthly Jerusalem with its Old Covenant mindset and all of the corruptions and perversions from the temple in earlier times.

Because God judges by His law, which mandates that the judgment should fit the crime, God raised up another legalistic religion based on other traditions of men to judge the church. Mohammed rose up from Arabia, the inheritance of Ishmael. It is therefore an Ishmaelite religion, coming out of Hagar.

So are the two witnesses killed by Islam? Not necessarily, for Jerusalem is the mother of all children of the Old Covenant. Islam is certainly an Old Covenant religion, but so is Judaism and much of Christianity. Hence, the two witnesses could be killed by either Islamics or Jews or even carnal Christians and still fulfill the prophecy.

We must view this more broadly, instead of looking at a single religion that kills these witnesses. It is the spirit or “beast” rising from the abyss who should be given credit for killing the witnesses, regardless of which of its agents do the stoning.  In fact, as we will see later in Revelation 13, there is a church beast that arises out of the sea— that is, the abyss— and this is primarily a church beast whose origin is the same as the Islamic beast.

In recent years, as this apostasy has deepened, we have seen the rise of Dispensationalism and its offspring, Christian Zionism, which have brought many Christians back into Egyptian slavery by claiming Hagar-Jerusalem as their spiritual “mother.”

Hence, all three of these religions have been influenced by the same beast from the abyss. All of them are children of the flesh (Gal. 4: 29), complete with bitter sibling rivalry over who will inherit the birthright. The biblical answer is that none of them will inherit the promise of God. The way to the inheritance is through a spiritual begetting that makes Sarah (New Jerusalem) one’s mother.

War Against the Saints

The beast from the abyss, John says, was to “make war with them, and overcome them and kill them” (Rev. 11: 7). This is a direct reference to the little horn in Dan. 7: 21, 22,

21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

In waging war against the saints, wearing them down, and actually overpowering them, the little horn has done what the beast from the abyss has also done in Rev. 11: 7. The time period is also the same. Dan. 7: 25 is somewhat obscure: “a time, times, and half a time,” but as we will see later in Rev. 13: 5-7, John interprets this obscure reference to mean “forty-two months,” or 3 ½ years. In other words, “a time” is one year, “times” is two years, and “half a time” is six months.

Yet a time of forty-two months is also the time allotted to the nations to “tread under foot the holy city” in Rev. 11: 2 while the two witnesses prophesy to them. So the events of Revelation 11 are directly linked to the events of Revelation 13,

Meanwhile, it is sufficient for us to see that the beast from the abyss was to wage war against the saints for forty-two prophetic months (1,260 years). The saints in Dan. 7: 21 are thus pictured and represented by the two witnesses in Revelation 11.

(There is a) period of 2,520 years during which time the beast systems exercised the power of the Dominion Mandate. Nebuchadnezzar was given this Mandate in 607 B.C., and when Babylon fell, it was passed on to Persia, then Greece, Rome, and finally to the little horn. Only a single century (163-63 B.C.) interrupted beast rule, and so this century must be added to the first 1260-year period.

From 607 B.C. to 754 A.D., the beasts exercised power for 1,260 of those years. The year 754 was the midpoint of the 2,520-year time of beast rule, and it was the year that the popes were given civil power (over the Papal States). The first 1,260 years is the main focus of Daniel’s prophecy. The last 1,260-year cycle, revealed by John, extends from 754-2014, when the divine court transferred the authority of the Dominion Mandate to the saints of the Most High.

It seems clear that the two witnesses reach the full end of their “sackcloth” ministry in 2014 when the beast lost its authority in the courts of heaven. Sackcloth (Rev. 11: 3) is the clothing of one who is fasting and praying.

The date of 2014, I believe, marked the end of the beast’s ability to overpower the saints in its war against them. The tide has now turned, because the saints won their case before the divine court. Even as this entire 2,520-year cycle began with a three-year transition from 607-604 B.C. (when Jerusalem was captured), so also are we seeing the same three-year transition transpire from 2014-2017.

The two witnesses represent companies of saints being opposed and persecuted in the beast’s war against them. In each generation God has raised up leaders, of course, and no doubt these historic leaders may be seen as specific witnesses in their respective times. Yet because they bore witness for only a short time within the framework of a 1,260-year time period, none of these outstanding leaders could possibly be— by themselves— one of the two witnesses, except as types and shadows. They were part of a collective body of saints who were nameless in Daniel 7, but who made names for themselves and were remembered by those who study church history.

The Death of the Witnesses

In Rev. 11: 7 we read that the beast makes war against two witnesses, overcomes them, and kills them. This is also what Dan. 7: 21 tells us about the little horn. In Rev. 11: 10 their “dead bodies” then are said to lie in the street of this mystical, or spiritual city. Rev. 11: 9 and 10 then say,

9 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. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

John’s vision of death, resurrection, and ascension was a vivid metaphor prophesying of the victory given to the overcomers and their message of truth. Rev. 11: 12 says,

12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.

Rev. 11: 13 concludes this section, saying,

13 And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

The “city” in question is the same city where the witnesses were killed. It is the oppressive city called Sodom, Egypt, and the earthly Jerusalem. To this list we may add Rome, but it also includes virtually the whole earth that is ruled by the flesh and remains in darkness without the light of the word.

When “a tenth of the city fell,” the context compels us to interpret this in terms of the Roman “city,” that is, not merely the city of Rome itself, but the area of Roman rule. The Protestants who had sprung to life after Martin Luther’s action in 1517 brought a great spiritual earthquake that overthrew a tenth of the people that Rome had controlled up to that time.