Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 12Sample

We are in Revelation chapter 11 today, where John says: "I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told to rise and measure the Temple of God and the altar of those who worship there." We then see in verse 2 that he talks about two witnesses; he talks about the law, which relates to Moses, and he talks about the prophets, which relates to Elijah. In the Book of Revelation, we always like to extract the absolutes. And we know that what is happening here is he's talking about Jerusalem and the importance of the temple in the old covenant, and then he prophesies, similar to what Jesus did, about the destruction not just of Jerusalem but also of the temple in verse 8.

And he says that dead bodies will lie in the streets of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their lord was crucified. So obviously, the crucifixion happened in the city of Jerusalem about 70 years after Christ Nero destroyed Jerusalem, as Jesus prophesied. So, we're talking about the symbolism of the old covenant. And then, in verse 15, the seventh Angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices 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.

We believe that what is happening in this chapter is the transition that Hebrews 1 speaks about: "In the old times, God spoke to us through the law and the prophets, but in these times, He is speaking to us through a Son." So we believe that the Kingdom of God is the new reality for every tribe and tongue for every nation to become a part of God's story through Jesus Christ.