2025/06/23

201. Revelation 7 and 11

Revelation prophecies that the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles will be included in the New Testament, in addition to the four Gospels, which describe up to the ascension of the Lord. We will examine Chapter 7, which explains its reason and Chapter 11, which describes the details of how these two books were taken up into heaven.

Chapter 7 begins: "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree" (Rev 7:1). The phrase "four corners" that appears twice here alludes to the "four corners" that also appears twice in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 10:11, 11:5), appearing nowhere else in the New Testament. It appears in a vision that Peter had while praying in the town of Joppa. Peter understood the meaning of the vision from his encounter with the Gentiles, whom the Holy Spirit had worked upon (cf. 10:1-48). When he returned to the church in Jerusalem and reported this experience (cf. 11:1-17), people who heard it "glorified God, saying, 'Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life' "(11:18). Taking this as an opportunity, the church in Jerusalem began to preach to the Gentiles. This policy change is the "four winds of the earth."

The reason why the four angels were holding back the four winds of the earth was to wait for Barnabas to find Paul, who had gone to Tarsus after his conversion, before beginning their mission to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 11:19-26). The Lord said to Ananias, who had assisted Paul's conversion, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (9:15). Also, before setting sail for Rome, Paul spoke to King Agrippa and testified, "Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of their repentance" (26:19-20). These episodes demonstrate that Paul was commissioned not only to preach the name of Jesus to the Gentiles but also to the children of Israel.

Looking at Revelation, we see that Paul's mission was to choose 144,000 people out of every tribe of the sons of Israel to be sealed with the seal of God (cf. Rev 7:2-4) and to enable "a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues" (7:9) to stand "before the throne and before the Lamb" (ibid.). These circumstances explain why, at the beginning of chapter 11, the writer of Revelation was given a measuring rod like a staff and commanded to "[r]ise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there" (11:1). That was to choose those who would be sealed from among all the tribes of the children of Israel.

The prophecy continues, "[B]ut do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months" (Rev 11:2), which suggests Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lk 13:34-35). So, it continues, "'And I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.' These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth" (Rev 11:3–4). The expression "clothed in sackcloth" suggests that "my two witnesses" are books or letters. The phrase "I will grant my two witnesses power to prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days" implies that this prophecy will be fulfilled in the Roman Empire, which will "trample over the holy city for forty-two months." These two expressions of time represent the time of God's patience.

Furthermore, "the two olive trees and the two lampstands" allude to the two churches likened to the "wild olive tree" and the "cultivated olive tree" in Paul's Epistle to the Romans (cf. Rom 11:24), namely, the Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian communities, because "lampstands" refer to churches in Revelation (cf. Rev 1:20). Then, Revelation testifies that the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles, which support these two churches, "stand before the Lord of the earth," that is, they are already acknowledged by the Holy Spirit sent to earth in the name of Jesus. Therefore, anyone who harms these two books, which have great effectiveness, will be considered an enemy of God (cf. Rev 11:5-6).

Then, "when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them" (Rev 11:7). When these two books are made public, a "beast" will interpret them using knowledge of the past world, i.e., the "bottomless pit," and falsify the truth they convey. Then, as it is written, "[T]heir dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified" (11:8), the "beast" will interpret even the teachings of the Cross of the Lord with knowledge of the past. That is because, regarding Paul's writings, "[t]here are some things in them hard to understand" (2 Pet 3:16) and they "had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth" (Rev 11:10).

However, those who have realised the truth from these two books and been saved, who are in heaven (cf. Rev 7:9-17), watch over these events for "three and a half days" (11:9) and pray and support that the power to convey the truth of the two books will not be buried in the tomb. On the other hand, the people on the earth rejoice greatly at the falsification carried out by the "beast." As it says that they will "exchange presents" (11:10), Revelation foretells a future in which people will exchange money and wealth and buy and sell power and authority as a result of these interpretations. Then, it says, "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" (11:11). The expression "three and a half days" here also refers to God's time of patience.

Then, it says, "Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up hither!' And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud" (Rev 11:12), which prophesies that the day will come when these writings will be linked to the four Gospels and interpreted correctly by all people. That is because the training of the first half of Revelation begins to create the tacit knowledge of the New Testament in trainees' memories.

Maria K. M.