The Second Scene Of The End Times Now Ends

Having emphasized again that Revelation is a book of symbols and that those symbols must be interpreted by referring to the Old Testament and to the words of Jesus, we are ready too move now to complete our comments on chapter 11 and conclude our study of the second of the seven scenes revealing what we are to expect as we await the return of our King, the Risen Christ.

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. - Rev 11:1-8 ESV

John has eaten the little scroll. He has inwardly digested it and now what follows are the perplexing words above, a bewildering interweaving of symbols from Old Testament history and prophecy. Here are references to the Temple, the altar, the court around the temple, the drought in the days of Elijah, the wild olive trees and the lamp stand seen by Zechariah, the plagues sent upon Pharaoh and Egypt in the days of the Exodus, the tyrant predicted by Daniel and to Sodom, Egypt and Jerusalem. Throughout this amazing summary of the history of God's people, we recall their faithful witness to their faith in God, despite indignity and persecution. But this is not the end of the story. They are delivered through martyrdom and death to an amazing flight to heaven.

For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come. - Rev 11:9-14 ESV

What does all this mean—symbolically or spiritually (pneumatikōs, Rev. 11:8)? John obviously is not measuring some literal temple. The temple was destroyed by the Romans over 20 years earlier. That temple has been replaced by the living temple (2 Cor. 6:16; Eph 2:20-21; 1 Pet 2:5). John is to measure this living temple, God's people, so that he may be God's instrument to build up, revive and restore God's people. 

He is not to measure the court outside the temple, but rather the inner court. Those on the outside persecute and trample upon the church, but they are not permitted to destroy her. The 42 months of persecution (3 ½ years) is derived from the prophet Daniel. This was the period the Greek King, Antiochus IV, was allowed to defile the temple from 167 to 164 B.C. with the "abomination that desolates" until the decreed end was poured out on the desolator (Dan 9:27; 12:7). Antiochus ordered that Jewish worship must cease and be replaced by worship of the Greek deity Zeus. This led to the Maccabean revolt and Antiochus' sudden death from an unknown disease. John uses this period of time (½ of 7 years) as the symbolical indication that the time of persecution by the enemies of God will be limited, as it has always been. 

Who are the two witnesses who prophesy for 1,260 days (3 ½ years), clothed in sackcloth? John gives us two hints. The first is his reference to two olive trees. The prophet Zechariah had a vision of Joshua the high priest, and Zerubbabel the civil ruler during the days when the temple was rebuilt, after 70 years of Babylonian captivity.  

And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left." And I said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" 

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth." 

Then I said to him, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?" And a second time I answered and said to him, "What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?" He said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" I said, "No, my lord." Then he said, "These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth." - Zec 4:1-14 ESV

John refers to the spiritual power given to the two "to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying," and their "power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire." This brings to mind the days of Elijah (2 Kings 1:10) and Moses (Exod 7:17-19). Thus within the church the LORD anoints with His Spirit both rulers and priests to witness to Him, just as He always has.

After the two witnesses finish their testimony they are attacked and killed by the beast from the bottomless pit (Rev. 11:7). We'll hear more about this demonic monster later in chapters 13 and 17. The martyrdom of the Two is likened to that of Christ in Jerusalem. Jerusalem now becomes a symbol. John writes that the great city is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt. Sodom is a symbol for total moral decay (Gen 19:4-11) and Egypt stands for oppression and slavery, reaching all the way back to the days of Moses. The bodies of the Two are denied a proper burial, a great disgrace. They lie in the streets for 3 ½ days, abandoned and decaying. At this all who dwell on earth rejoice. A holiday is declared and presents are exchanged, because the Two can no longer trouble their consciences by calling them to repent nor prevent them by force from advancing their cause. But then suddenly the victory celebration comes to an end with a great earthquake. A tenth of the city collapses and 7 x 1,000 die. The Two Witnesses rise from the dead and are caught up to heaven in a cloud. Those left behind are terrified and give glory to the God of heaven.

So we are told again that the church and her anointed leaders will suffer persecution and death in these last days, but she cannot be destroyed. Instead the exact number of God's enemies chosen for destruction die. As this second woe passes the seventh angel blows his trumpet and loud voices echo in heaven, saying,

 "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." 

And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 

"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth." - Rev 11:15-18 ESV

This sounds as if the end of the age has come—and indeed it has! The book could well end here. It is a proper ending, but there are 11 more chapters to follow. John has five more scenes of the End Times to present to us, deepening our understanding of the last days. He also confirms what he said in the opening chapter (Rev. 1:4-7). Christ has made us a royal priesthood (1Pe 2:9 ESV), kings and priests to His God and Father. He is coming soon with the clouds. He is the LORD God who is and was and is to come. Even so, come LORD Jesus! Amen.

Through The Valley To A New Life of Service and Excitement

My final Sunday as Interim Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Tomball, TX. is next Sunday, May 24. That afternoon the congregation will accept Pastor Chris Hull from Illinois as their new shepherd.  He will be installed into office at a special service that afternoon. He is scheduled to arrive with his wife and family the middle of this week. He will preach his first sermon on May 31, Holy Trinity Sunday.

These past two weeks I've received a few friendly comments about my returning to retirement. My usual response has been that I can find no mention of retirement in the Bible. However, upon reflection, I may have to take back that statement. It does occur to me that for one reason or another some of the primary personages in the Bible did indeed retire—at least for a time. Here, for example, I'm thinking about Moses. When Moses impulsively killed an Egyptian who was beating one of Moses' people, he fled—retired if you will, because the Egyptian Pharaoh wanted to kill him.

"But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian.  .  ." - Exo 2:15 ESV

Midian was on the other side of the Red Sea. Life changed radically for Moses in that land. He married Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, and retired from the luxurious life of a prince of Egypt to the relatively quiet one of a shepherd. Later, in his 80's, the LORD God confronted him in a "burning bush that was not consumed by fire" on Mount Horeb. And so began the well known story of his being sent to lead the exodus of the children of Israel.

I've reflected often upon that story during these past 20 months while serving Zion. Like Moses, I was 80 years old when I received and accepted God's new Call to serve again as a public minister of His Word. By God's grace I have not been asked to serve for 40 years in the wilderness, however. My 20 months of service come now to an end. What awaits ahead I do not yet know.

The simple point I make is that each of us has a call to follow Christ, the Good Shepherd, who leads us through a sometimes bewildering journey to the Father's house. He leads. We follow. He feeds and provides. We lie down in His green pastures. We take comfort knowing that He watches over us with His rod and staff. One day soon He will lead me and all who follow Him safely home.

Then will begin an eternal retirement from the darkness of this world's valley. Meanwhile I can hardly wait for the joy and excitement of that new phase of my life eternal with Him.

Meeting and Talking with Moses

I've been out of the blogging business now for quite a time. My excuse, of course, is that I'm serving as the Interim Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church of Tomball, Texas and simply don't have the time—and the energy to keep it going. Well, that's my excuse at least.

Now that the year and a couple months I've been serving this congregation are coming to an end, I've decided that it is possible—maybe even necessary—for me to pick up this work once again. The congregation's Call committee has found three candidates they like and within a few weeks they may even be prepared to present them to the congregation to consider for the call to the office of pastor. The current nomenclature is "senior pastor" (a non-Biblical term). The idea is that the one fulfilling this office will be the overseer or Bishop of a growing staff of congregation servants, because Zion sees great possibilities for expanding the kingdom of Christ in this area.

If that happens and if the man called agrees that the Lord of the church is calling him to this work, there is a distinctive possibility that he will indeed become the senior pastor of Zion congregation sometime before or after the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter), the first week in April, 2015. But let me be very clear. This remains in the hands of the Holy Spirit. I am only speculating.

But what's my point? Ah, there you have me. I am considering what is the next step in my life. I shall be putting down the mantel of interim pastor and will step to the side. I've thought a lot about that in this past year. I recall that Moses was 80 years old when he began to lead Israel to the promised land. And 40 years later his work was done. Whoever completed that part of the Deuteronomy story wrote this:

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. - Deu 34:5-7 ESV

That's not the last we hear of Moses, however. He was there on another mountain—when the Lord Jesus was transfigured.

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." - Mat 17:2-4 ESV

Can you imagine what it will be like to meet Moses? ! And talk with him? And Elijah? And all the other prophets and apostles? What a humbling, wondrous experience that will be. When you get to be over 80 years old, that's the kind of thoughts one has.

Having To Admit I'm Old

For the past couple weeks I've been unable to blog. Something was blocking me and I was not sure what it was. Each time I thought about writing I couldn't go forward. Finally I came upon what I believe has been bothering me. Its that—this is hard to say—I'm having to admit that I'm . . . well, that I'm old !

For the past six months, ever since I turned 80 on the second day of October, I've struggled with a whole host of questions having to do with old age and the end of life on this planet. Its not that I'm afraid of death. I'm not. I'm actually more curious than afraid. I'm quite confident that God's judgment upon my sinful life has long ago been satisfied in my Lord Jesus' life, death and resurrection. And now I'm very interested in what comes after this life. What stands before me—on the "other side of the river"? What amazing reality awaits? And this time it won't merely be speculation.

OK, having gotten that out of the way, I'm still here. HERE! And I don't know for how long. And I'm, well yes, old! What does that mean?

There is no general agreement about the age at which a person becomes old. We commonly use calendar age to mark the threshold of old age and assume that a person my age is old. Back in the '30's when the social security act was established it was assumed that one didn't live very much longer than 65 here in America. So if you reached the age of 65 you wouldn't be drawing on your social security very long. You were old and death was near. But now, of course, that's all changed. Make it to 65 and you probably will make it to 80. Make it to 80 and statistically you'll make it past 90. And so forth. Right now the talk is that 120 is the upper limit. 

Strangely enough the culture from which I spring, and others as well, used to think that women aged more rapidly than men. Now we know that the opposite is true. We men die off and the women keep on. Check out any retirement or nursing home if you doubt it. But little by little that too is changing—at least for some men. In my own case, the doctors have repaired my heart with a number of bypasses and put in a new aortic valve that supposedly will keep on operating for more than a decade. So am I getting old? Is the number of complaints the way by which I am to mark old age? If so, I'm getting older day by day. This arthritis is quite painful at times. 

Enough speculation. Join me as I explore what the Bible has to say about old age. 

Before the great flood we read about some preposterous ages. People lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. 

• All the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. 
• All the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. 
• All the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died. 
• All the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died. 
• Enoch was 65 when he fathered Methuselah. He lived for another 365 before God "took him". 
• All the days of Methuselah, Noah's grandpa, were 969 years, and he died (Gen. 5:27). No one has lived as long since then. 
• Noah lived for 500 years before he fathered Shem, Ham and Japheth. The text doesn't say how old Mrs. Noah was. It only goes on to say that "the earth was corrupt in God's sign and filled with violence" (Gen. 6:11). And God decided to make an end to all flesh—except for Noah and his family and all the living things that were preserved on the ark Noah built (Gen. 6:17-22). 

What changed? What was it about the flood that changed how long we now live? There has been much speculation about that among us Christians. What caused Moses to write what he did in Psalm 90? 

The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. - Psa 90:10 ESV

The site Creation.com discusses the question of living 900+ years before the flood and the fact that the race was reduced to eight people immediately after possibly being the partial explanation for such a radically shortened lifespan. The site concludes:

Recently, laboratory results based on an enzyme that is involved with the replication of the telomere, have caused much excitement. Modified human cell lines have divided many times past their limit. Some speculate that such manipulations could cause people to live to much longer ages, providing they do not succumb to disease or accident in the meantime. Aging is certain to be much more complex than these simplified discussions, based on preliminary findings, might lead us to think. However, the evidence so far strongly suggests that genetics plays a major part.

I'll pick this up, together with some more Biblical data next time. Join me—if you're not too old yet.

Food for the Journey

I've been reflecting much these days upon the life and work of Moses, especially his reluctance at being drawn back into public life as a leader of God's people. Here's what the Scriptures tell us:

Moses fled Egypt after he had grown up, because he had killed an Egyptian in defense of one of the Israelites. Afraid of retaliation by the Egyptians, he ended up living with the Midianites. These nomadic people lived in the wilderness areas to the east of Egypt. They seem not to have had any boundaries. There Moses spent many years in apparent peace as a shepherd (Exodus 1-2). I can only assume that he thought he would live and die in that pursuit, but it was not to be. At about the age of eighty years, he was called out of his nomadic life and into the very public work of leading the children of Israel out of slavery and on to the land long ago promised to Abraham and his descendants.

The work of leading Israel lasted for the next forty years. Moses finally died at the age of 120, though, as Exodus says, "his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone." That suggests that Moses was 80 when he assumed the momentous task of leader. And that fact leads back to why I have been reflecting much upon Moses' life.

This past year I marked 75 years on my journey to what the Bible calls the land of rest, symbolized by the weekly day of rest, the Sabbath, and the promised land. Some eight years ago I stepped aside from full time pastoral ministry to make room for a younger man. At that time I felt it was God's will and plan. Now, with some caution, I have begun to serve a growing congregation of God's people as counselor and advisor, much like Jethro was to Moses. Some of the leaders of this congregation are asking for my greater involvement, perhaps as one of their pastor-shepherds, until they are led to call another man who will serve them in a full time capacity.

I find myself pulled in two directions by that discussion. On the one hand, I enjoy the freedom of the life Sylvia and I have led these past eight years. I've been my own boss, so to speak, making decisions about how to spend my days without the burden of caring for a flock of God's people. And yet, I have always loved the work of the pastoral ministry. To many I've indicated that I'm among the richest men on earth, primarily because of the hundreds of rich and rewarding relationships I've been privileged to develop.

So what to do? As always, I, like you, must go where the Lord leads. He will provide for the journey. He made that promise to those of his disciples sent out ahead of Him. The same applies to us, regardless of the work to which we are called. So I await His leading, as must we all.