"And there was opened the temple of Yahweh that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail." (Revelation 11:1-19).

A section of three chapters (11, 12, and 13), with a common theme appears almost at the very center of the book of Revelation. As we noted in last month’s segment, verse 10 of chapter 12 comprises the central verse in the book of Revelation. The common element in each of these three chapters relates to the specific time frame to which they are all related. Revelation 11:2 contains this time reference as 42 months; verse 3 as 1,260 days; verse 9 designates the period as three and a half days, each one suggesting a relationship to the other times. Revelation 12:6 contains the time expressed as 1,260 days; verse 14 as a time, times, and half a time (which we interpret from the book of Daniel, especially chapter 4, verses 16 and 32, and other places). In Revelation 13:5, the time element of 42 months appears which reminds us again of Revelation 11:2.

The segment published last month concentrated upon a close examination of Revelation chapter 12. This article was compiled to answer a question that came to the author (who is the Directing Elder of the Assemblies of Yahweh), during one of the Feast of Tabernacles observances. After some thought, we made the decision to speak on the adjacent two chapters surrounding this central chapter seeing they appear at the very center of the book and are obviously connected. Concentrating upon understanding the book of Revelation at this moment in time relates to the pertinence of the subject as the end of the age draws nears.

We shall study through Revelation chapter 11 carefully and glean the interpretation of what it says directly from the sacred Scriptures. Verse 1 of Revelation chapter 11 reads, "And there was given to me a reed like a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of Elohim, and the altar, and them that worship in it." The term reed is translated from the term kalamos. The word kalamos was used by my parents in my youth and it meant a swamp plant, something like a cattail. In Greek the term is #2563, where it means a reed (a plant or its stem). It means specifically a piece of cane, something like sugar cane or bamboo, cut to length and employed as a measure. It takes on the meaning of a standard unit of measure. The term rod is translated from the word rhabdos, #4464 in Greek, and translated as a rod, a sceptre, or a staff. It is also translated the same, we note, in Revelation 2:27 and 12:5. Therefore, it means a piece of cane that is about as long as a sceptre, which is used as a standard of measure.

Actually Revelation 11:1 comprises a somewhat parallel compliment to Zechariah chapter 2. Let us begin reading from this chapter with verse 1. "And I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and, behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then I said, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the width of it, and what is the length of it. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him. And said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, by reason of the multitude of men and cattle in it. For I, says Yahweh, will be to her a wall of fire all around, and I will be the glory in the middle of her." (Zechariah 2:1-5).

Return again to Revelation chapter 11. "And the court which is outside the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it has been given to the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months." (Revelation 11:2). This is exactly what has happened. Following the destruction of the Herodian Temple, the Temple Mount has been in the hands of the goyim, the gentiles, nations, the foreigners. The Roman army destroyed the Temple, and it was never rebuilt. Prophecy has been fulfilled. But, there will be a new Temple constructed in the future in which the Jews will worship.

This passage of Scripture is very similar to what Yahshua the Messiah predicted in His Olivet prophecy in Luke 21:24. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive to all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Do not write off these Olivet prophecies as though they were completely fulfilled in Yahshua’s time. Some of them may have been partially fulfilled at that time, but Yahshua is trying to tell us that these prophecies will be completely fulfilled at the end of the age, since it will be during the time when a great tribulation will occur, trouble such as never before was experienced. See Daniel 12:1–2, Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19, Luke 21:22, 1 Thessalonians 5:1–8.

In Revelation 11:5, we learn, "And if any man desires to hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and if any man shall desire to hurt them, in this manner must he be killed."

By turning to Hosea 6:5-7, we read, "Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth: and your judgments are as the light that goes forth. For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of Elohim more than burnt-offerings. But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me."

In Jeremiah chapter 5, we find a passage of Scripture that really strikes home. "Therefore thus says Yahweh, the Elohim of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them." (Jeremiah 5:14). Yahweh wants us to understand in Revelation 11:5 that these two prophets will have the words of Yahweh coming out of their mouth, and this will have the effect of fire and the people will be like wood symbolically, and the words of Yahweh will devour them in His judgment. Note Jeremiah 23:28–29. "The prophet that has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says Yahweh. Is not my word like fire? says Yahweh; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?"

We must conclude that indeed Yahweh Himself is the author of the book of Revelation. You would have to memorize virtually the entire Old Testament to put together the book of Revelation. There were no concordances to assist the prophet (author) when the book of Revelation was written. The one who wrote the book of Revelation knew intimately what the Old Testament had to say, and therefore, a supernatural mind was indeed necessary to produce the book of Revelation.

Continuing in Revelation chapter 11, verse 7, we read, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them." Here is an enigma. The Beast that comes out of the abyss is mentioned in Revelation chapter 11, but it is not described until later in Revelation 13. We will be studying Revelation chapter 13 in future segments, to glean from this chapter what we, the people of Yahweh, need to know concerning the Beast system. The Beast is described following Revelation chapter 12 which portrays the emergence of a modern-day spiritual Israel of Yahweh.

Daniel chapter 7 describes the Beast. "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth." (Daniel 7:17). Mention of the term Beast terrifies people, but it should not. If you substitute there the term animal, then you will recall that most nations have selected an animal to be their symbol. For example, England’s symbol is the lion; America’s , the eagle; Germany and ancient Rome also had an emblematic eagle; and Russia selected the bear. Other nations are similarly symbolized by animals.

The Bible is filled with many puns and instances of paranomasia (a play on words), where words have a literal meaning, but also a secondary, a figurative meaning. It is up to us to notice these instances of paranomasia so that we may properly interpret the Bible.

In Revelation chapter 11, verse 7, we read again, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them." The two witnesses will actually fulfill the concept of a martyr, they will die for their faith.

Continuing in verse 8, we read, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Master was impaled." Let us consider one interpretation in Ezekiel 16:46. "And your elder sister is Samaria, that dwells at your left hand, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, that dwells at your right hand, is Sodom and her daughters." Jerusalem is called Sodom—Remember, THIS INTERPRETATION COMES DIRECTLY OUT OF THE BIBLE!

The clause, "where also their Master was impaled," leaves no question that it describes Yahshua. Some people want to interpret this and say, "Yahshua gets impaled on city streets every time the people sin." This explanation is far too simplistic, it cannot be accepted because we must interpret the book of Revelation directly from the Old Testament Scriptures. Consequently, Sodom is identified as Jerusalem, and it was the literal place where Yahshua was impaled.

Let us concentrate for a moment upon the question of the identity of the two witnesses, since they are the focal point of this entire passage. Upon these two men (prophets), in Jerusalem, will rest the announcement of Yahweh’s impending judgment. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16). (See also Deuteronomy 5:20. This is a recapitulation of the original commandment.

In Deuteronomy chapter 19, we read, "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established. If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Yahweh, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days; and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother; then you shall do to him, as he had thought to do to his brother: so shall you put away the evil from among you. And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall from then on commit no more any such evil among you. And your eye shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." (Deuteronomy 19:15-21). This last verse we have read is the law of lex talionis, the law of retaliation.

The two witnesses will be testifying to something. "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death." (Deuteronomy 17:6). There must be several witnesses in a murder trial who can testify to seeing the commission of the felony. An accused individual should not be convicted or sentenced to death on circumstantial evidence alone. There must be several witnesses, or as in the case of Achan in Yahshua chapter 7, a confession. Capital punishment cannot result from anything else. I am convinced that the modern courts of law are sometimes condemning people to death without having proper witnesses and only on circumstantial evidence, therefore doing so erroneously.

The two witnesses then are 1) in perfect unity, 2) prophesying before a rebuilt Temple, 3) given power for three and a half years of testimony, and 4) coming from the Assemblies of Yahweh. The Assemblies of Yahweh today is the only group preaching the pure doctrinal truth, that it is Yahweh and Yahshua the Messiah who give salvation. There is no other salvation. Between now and Yahshua’s Second Coming, each member of the Assemblies of Yahweh and each item of Assemblies of Yahweh literature that they pass out; having it in their hand and in their mind so that they can quote the Word of Yahweh, comprises the two or three witnesses. But, EVENTUALLY TWO MEN WILL LITERALLY FULFILL THIS PROPHECY IN JERUSALEM, and these two men will be given the power to fulfill the prophecy of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Who are they? The selection process is still not completed, so we do not know their names as yet.

Recently we were looking over some literature that we brought back from Israel on one of our trips there. In a museum in Jerusalem stands the model of the third Temple. It is standing there and ready to serve in a construction project for the third Temple. The models of all the Temple furniture, altars of sacrifice and incense, are on display. In another museum we have seen the Temple articles ALREADY PREPARED AUTHENTICALLY to be used. That is how close we are at this moment to the construction of the third Temple!

A time of trouble will strike the Middle East that will lead to the reconstruction of the third Temple. That time of trouble could begin almost any time. Many people are saying that now is the time to rebuild the Temple. Does this make you tremble and thrill that we are so close? It does me! It seems that the Middle East is always in conflict, so the tensions could intensify almost at any time, leading to the fulfillment of these prophecies.

May Yahweh bless the Assemblies of Yahweh that He has raised up in these last days from a little mustard seed to fulfill His Word. May we not forget these messages. WE MUST NOT FORGET THEM, but remember, and plant them deeply in the fertile soil of our hearts, because the day is soon at hand. How long will it be until Yahshua returns? We cannot say! But, the time is certainly ripe. Let us be prepared at all times to meet Yahshua the Messiah in the air.

Editor’s Note: Once more the editor suggests that you do not skim read this article, conversely, if you are determined to comprehend Bible prophecy, read through this article carefully, then study it, with the intent to assimilate the sound teaching of the sacred Scriptures.