Join us as we uncover the intricate details of Bible prophecy and the fate of Jerusalem during the tribulation. We examine the confederacy of nations ensuring Israel’s peace and security, as well as the downfall that leads Jerusalem to be dominated by Gentiles. Discover the hope embedded within God’s word, revealing the triumph of divine justice through the lens of prophecy, ensuring God’s promises unfold as part of a grand design.
Friends, we’re living on the brink of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. We really are. And I don’t know how much you keep up on it, but it is hot again right now. And our papers are giving it some attention, but it is very serious. It’s a powder keg right now in the Middle East. And somebody’s going to have to move in there and guarantee the peace and security of that. And there is going to have to be a presence, a confederacy of nations guaranteeing the security of Israel. So their presence will be there.
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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. In Revelation chapter 11, we meet two mysterious witnesses, men sent by God to prophesy in Jerusalem during the tribulation. Their power is unstoppable, their message uncompromising, and their presence… impossible to ignore. Over several broadcasts, David Hawking is taking us deep into their study, why they’re sent, what they accomplish, and how the world reacts and what their ministry reveals about God’s justice and his mercy. This is not just a study of two men, but of a God who still offers hope even in the midst of judgment. Join us as David continues our study of the two witnesses from Revelation chapter 11 in just a moment. First, Matt, each day the postman comes by and brings another batch of letters and we never ever get tired of hearing from the folks out there, do we?
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And Jim, I have another one here from Nancy that says, I was thanking God for you and all that you’ve taught me and God gave me the verse Jeremiah 3.15. And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which I’ll feed you with knowledge and understanding. I love this verse. Amen.
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Amen. Nancy, thank you for sharing this. And she follows it up with another comment that really meant a lot to us. Oh, yeah.
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He’s blessed me with the best, and I can’t thank him enough for all he’s done and all he does. for me through you.
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Well, amen. And we give God the glory for everything he does through this ministry. It is our privilege, as you would say, Matt, to be involved in sharing the gospel and teaching believers how to live in difficult days. And then after we do the work here, we hear from people like Nancy. Wow, that just makes our day. Love it. Thank you so much. And we’ll tell you in just a bit how you can share a note with Hope for Today. And here’s David with today’s lesson.
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Chapter 11, verse 1. There was given me a reed like a rod, and the angel stood saying, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship in it. But the court… which is, we would say, outside without the temple, leave out and measure it not, for it is given unto the heathen, or the nations, the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks or lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeded out of their mouth and devour their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy and have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the peoples and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not allow or suffer or permit their dead bodies to be put in graves.” And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them who saw them. And they heard a great or loud voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up here. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand. And the remnant were affrighted or terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. And behold, the third woe cometh quickly. The last three trumpet judgments are called woe because of their seriousness. John is hearing all of this and, of course, I’m sure being utterly amazed. from the standpoint of the first century A.D. to when this prophecy is fulfilled. And it says, it was given me a reed like a rod, verse 1. And the angel said, rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and then that worship in it. But the court which is outside the temple. Now, in the ancient temple of Herod and Solomon, you have right outside of the Holy of Holies, you have the court of Israel. And outside of that, you have the court of the Gentiles. And so the Gentiles were considered to be those who are far off, and those of Israel were those that were near. And we know the Bible says that the wall represented a barrier that was far greater than a physical stone. It was a barrier that was represented by the law itself. And Paul wrote in Ephesians 2 that that wall was broken down, so to speak, the law, the enmity, the hostility between Jew and Gentile over the commandments that Israel said everybody had to obey and the Gentiles couldn’t. And they remained outside, therefore, and far away. The Bible says that Christ, who is our peace, has brought both near. And those that are far off and those that are near have brought near. have been brought near to the holy place and have access into God’s presence by the precious blood of Christ. So it represented, in a symbolic way, our approach to God and being able to come into his presence as believers today, whether you are Jew or Gentile. But here we have a clear indication that it will be set up after the ancient design. There will be a court of the Gentiles outside of the arena of the major area of the temple, the holy place and the holy of holies and the court of Israel. So he says the court that’s outside the temple, leave it out and measure it not. Listen to the reason. For it is given under the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forever. forty and two months. Now how do we put this all together? Well, let me give you just three things about the measurement of the temple. One would be the purpose. What is the purpose of measuring the temple? You’ll find the same thing being said in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 many times. In fact, just in the opening chapters of Ezekiel 40 to 42, I stopped counting. I counted 28 times. The prophet is told to measure the temple. And it’s God’s way of showing that it’s going to be fulfilled. It’s literally going to be there. And so the purpose of John being told this, rise, measure the temple of God, is to understand that it’s going to be there. We’re not, this isn’t just a figment of our imagination. It’s real. And the purpose is to tell us that that temple that God has predicted will be desecrated by the man of sin is actually going to be built. And apparently by the Jews, those who will worship in it. Now there’s a prohibition here that you don’t measure the outer court. It’s given to the Gentiles. And I think there’s more here than meets the eye. Turn back to Luke 21, please. Luke 21. Verse 24, in describing the terrible judgment of Rome invading Jerusalem and destroying the city and the temple, you can see from verse 20, when you see Jerusalem compassed with armies, you know its desolation is near. But verse 24 says, “…they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations.” That’s happened. “…and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles.” until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Boy, have there been a lot of interesting prophetic interpretations on that phrase. The times of the Gentiles started with the destruction of the temple by Babylon in 586 B.C. They will not end until the end of the tribulation period. So this becomes a very difficult doctrine to understand and accept, especially if you’re an Israeli. Jerusalem today, in terms of the holy mount of God upon which the temple is built, is still trodden down by Gentiles. It is not in the possession and control of the Jewish people. And when those of you who have been to Israel know what I mean, when you go there, it’s really strange, is it not, to be in a country and its capital city and to be there knowing how the Jews feel about Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, to walk up the Temple Mount and have to have all your things checked and all of that, and you walk in, and here it’s under Arab Muslim domination and control. Israel tolerates that for the whole international community to be happy with them. But they conquered the land. But here, right in the middle of all places, the Temple Mount, where the temple’s to be built, that’s totally in the hands of the Muslims. And so Jerusalem’s still trodden down. But in our prophecy in Revelation 11, what it is talking about is after that temple is built and constructed in the tribulation period, there’s going to come a time when we’re going to see the Gentile domination of that city worse than ever before. So don’t measure outside of the holy place because I’ll tell you it’s going to be controlled by the Gentiles. And let me give you the several ways in which it’s going to be controlled. One, it’s going to be controlled by an international confederacy of nations led by a Western power that will eventually produce the Antichrist. And they are going to make a peace agreement with Israel to guarantee their peace and security against their hostile Arab neighbors. And therefore, they are going to have a presence there controlling it. Now, you and I both know that’s what’s being discussed now. And there is going to have to be a presence, a confederacy of nations guaranteeing the security of Israel. So their presence will be there. So in that sense, Jerusalem is still under the domination of Gentiles. But there’s going to be a second sense, and that is in the last three and a half years of the tribulation, the last 42 months, The last 1260 days, there is going to be a domination of Israel by Gentiles such as they have never known in their history. The Antichrist is going to go into the temple about the middle of the week. He’s going to break his covenant agreement, and he’s going to all of a sudden reveal his true colors, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s going to demand that the Jews worship him. The Old Testament prophet Daniel said it’ll be just like the days we saw years ago under Antiochus Epiphanes, who did the same thing, went in, sacrificed a pig on the altar to be despicable in the eyes of all the Jews, and then demanded they worship him. Epiphanes, the revelation of God. That’s what he said. Antiochus Epiphanes. And the Bible says that this Antichrist is going to do exactly the same thing, in the same spirit, same attitude, same situation. We’re going to see that happen. And in the last three and a half years, not only is the Antichrist going to persecute Israel, the Bible will teach, as we will learn shortly in chapter 12, that the devil himself, Satan, will become personally involved like he has not been involved in all of history. He will be enraged with Israel, and he will try to wipe her off of the face of the earth. All nations will be gathered against her. There will be an attempt by demonic forces to wipe Israel off the map. And as you know, all Muslim nations are committed to that to this day. There are many fine Muslim people who are not, but there are Muslim nations officially, all of them are committed to the extermination of every last Jew off of the face of the earth. And that’s still true today. That’s still the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s covenant, still to this day. And my friend, all nations will join in that. There will be a terrible trotting down of Jerusalem. And that’s why this measurement of the temple here in verses 1 and 2 is no small matter in terms of Bible prophecy. Don’t measure the out of court. he’s told, because that’s going to be trampled down by the Gentiles for 42 months or 1260 days. That will be the last three and a half years of the tribulation period. It’s called the time of Jacob’s trouble in the Old Testament prophets. It is the time we know of as the great tribulation. More suffering and persecution for Israel is coming than they have ever experienced. That is indeed heart-rendering. You also have, in this measurement of the temple, a clear statement of the plan of God, do you not? Don’t you like the way this reads, the end of the verse? I love this. Are you back in Revelation? I wasn’t. Revelation 11. It’s just the way it’s reading. I like in verse 2, “‘For it is given.'” I like that. It’s given unto the Gentiles. God’s in control of this whole, the holy city, they’ll tread underfoot. Oh, by the way, 40 and two months, not a month longer. There’s something about all this that I like. God’s in control. He’s running everything. He’s taken over. Praise the Lord. Nothing to worry about. Now, the second thing we want you to look at in this chapter is the message of the two witnesses. Look at verse 3. And I’ll give power unto my two witnesses. They shall prophesy 1,203 score days. That’s 42 months or three and a half years based on a prophetic calendar where the month is 30 days. And they’ll be clothed in sackcloth. Now this would apparently be the 42 months of the first half of the tribulation because they’re going to be killed and then resurrected at the middle of the week. And apparently the prophecy of verse 2 is talking about the last three and a half years. So you’ve got the tribulation period divided into two halves. And if you look at anybody’s prophecy book with charts, they always split the tribulation period in half. And you say, why do they do that? Well, it all comes from this passage right here. That’s where they get it. Nowhere else. Right here. Three things about the message of the two witnesses. One, they’re going to proclaim it as special messengers from God. And this may not be real obvious to you, but would you look at the first phrase of verse 3 again? It says, I’ll give power unto my two witnesses. In Greek, it’s what we call, excuse me for referring to it, but it’s important here, an emphatic position. What it really reads is, the two witnesses of mine. It is really a powerful, strong statement, first of all, to indicate that these two witnesses have been here before. It’s not just any old two witnesses. It is the two witnesses who have been my special representatives all along. And these two witnesses are mine. They are my special emissaries. So the first thing I learn about the message of the two witnesses is that they will proclaim it as special messengers from God who have obviously been doing this before. Number two, they’re going to prophesy, as we said, 1260 days. This is still part of the sixth trumpet judgment. Since the seventh trumpet is blown at the middle of the week, we know we are still talking about the first half of the tribulation is when they’re going to prophesy. As soon as all the Christians are out of here, who’s going to preach the gospel? Who’s going to proclaim God’s message? All the true Christians are gone. Oh, there’ll be a lot of preaching going on. Be a lot of churches still in operation. Everybody listening? But my friends understand something. The message they’re going to preach is a message of repentance. You say, how do you know that? Look at verse 3 again. Clothed in what? Sackcloth. There’s your clue. Well, the way a lot of us talk today, you’d think they’d come out with the latest Italian suit. But that’s not what the Bible says. Understand something. If the Lord comes tonight, we still have the way we’re dressing in our culture now. But these two guys are out of step. They’re clothed in sackcloth. And that ancient Jewish sign says, was of repentance and mourning and lamentation and judgment. So they’re not caring much about how society is applauding their appearance. They are coming to preach God’s message. Just kind of a little warning to all of us. While we try to be all things to all men, let’s be careful. Sometimes we adapt to the culture and before long we adopt their views of things. We have so much world in the church, we can’t decide the difference between Christians and lions without a scorecard. You know, it just gets a little tough. And we need to understand that we need to be totally committed to Jesus Christ no matter what. No matter how we look, how we appear, what our, you know, cultural habits are. We need to understand devotion to God to preach His message no matter what. And these men are doing that, and they are not well-received.
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That’s Bible teacher David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will be back to bring our time and a word to a close in just a moment. First, his son Matt’s here, and together we’re going to share a wonderful resource with you. Matt.
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Zechariah is an exciting prophetic roadmap that points clearly to the coming of our Lord and the restoration of Israel. In Zechariah 1.3, the Lord states, Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you.
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Matt, that message applies today as well, doesn’t it? We need repentance, don’t we? Yes, we do. Zechariah is crucial to understanding that and God’s plan in these last days. Absolutely. Look at Zechariah 12.10. They shall look upon me… upon me whom they have pierced. You know, I’m reminded that God has not forgotten and will not forget his covenant people and that a day is coming when the nation of Israel will recognize their Messiah. What a day that will be. Yeah, exactly.
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Understand Zechariah and you’ll have tremendous insight into the future.
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But Matt, also the days we’re living in right now, it speaks of nations gathering against Jerusalem, Zechariah 14.2. The Lord returning and standing on a Mount of Olives, Zechariah 14.4.
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And of the day when the Lord shall be king over all the earth from Zechariah 14.9. Clear, literal prophecies given by God about what is yet to come.
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Visions of the Future was written by David Hawking to help believers understand the connection between biblical prophecy and the events we see unfolding in our world today. so that we might be prepared and watchful and strengthened in our faith. And the book of Zechariah gives us the clarity and confidence to stand firm, watch, and be ready. Amen, amen. Well, this month, we’re featuring David’s book, Visions of the Future, for $15. And when you purchase, would you prayerfully consider adding a donation to help us continue the work of Hope for Today or send a contribution by itself, either a one-time gift or a regular monthly gift? And as always, please faithfully pray for hope for today. Amen. To get this powerful book, Visions of the Future by David, call 800-75-BIBLE in the US or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. By the numbers, that’s 800-75-24253 in the US and 888-75-24253 in Canada. And friend, let me say this. If you need prayer today, We are here for you. The Hope for Today team stands ready to lift you up before the Lord. So call us, write us, get in touch. Let us know how we can pray for you. Because Hope for Today isn’t just about broadcast. It’s about people. And that means you. And please do remember to pray for us as well. We count on that. Pray that God will continue to guide us in the direction he wants us to go and that he will continue to provide for this ministry. and you know something, if God is leading you to be a part of answering that prayer, we invite you to partner with us in ministry. Your support helps keep Hope for Today on the air, also streaming Bible teaching online and making free devotionals, video messages, and study materials available to those who need them. To send your gift by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S, 8P1. And once again, our numbers are 875 Bible in the U.S. and 88875 Bible in Canada, the website davidhawking.org. And here’s David to wrap up our study time.
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Hi, friends. Thanks for listening. This is the book of Revelation, and we are in Revelation 11, dealing with the two witnesses and the measuring of the temple, the altar, and those that worship therein. These two witnesses are referred to indirectly in verse 4 as the two olive trees. And that goes to Zechariah chapter 4, and we’re going to try to make that connection for you so you know what’s happening here. But we’re told that the Gentiles are going to tread the holy city underfoot for forty and two months, and that two witnesses are going to come, and they’re going to prophesy for 1260 days. clothed in sackcloth. Wow. Oh, I love the study of the book of Revelation, don’t you? Well, thanks for listening. Hope you can be with us for every broadcast. God bless.
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Well, thank you, David. And if you missed any part of today’s program, don’t worry. You can always go back and listen again for a limited time. And you can visit us online at davidhawking.org, where we have the most recent broadcast available for a limited time to stream on demand. Just click on the radio tab. You’ll also find past series, daily devotionals, free video messages, and Bible study materials that will help you grow deeper in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. And if it’s easier for you, you can listen to Hope for Today on many of our radio stations, online feeds, or subscribe to the Hope for Today podcast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever you go to get your podcast. And again, our website, davidhawking.org. Well, next time on the program, David takes us further into Revelation chapter 11 and the remarkable story of the two witnesses. Who are these men and why does God place them in Jerusalem at this crucial moment in history? Well, we’ll see their power, their message, and the world’s fierce reaction against them as we continue this study. You know, even in the middle of judgment, God is still reaching out with mercy and a call to repentance. So be here tomorrow for Hope for Today.
