Time, Times and a Half – Part Four

Saturday Refresh – Early Edition!

Just to be clear…I know it is not Saturday! However, to celebrate His resurrection and all that it means to the world (us), I will post something on topic this Saturday, leaving my refresh series for this week to drop today…Part Four. Please enjoy!

Daniel had, in his studies, found a scroll that contained the word of the Lord through Jeremiah telling the covenant people that, because of their faithlessness to their side of the covenant they were to serve the king(s) of Babylon for seventy years. This discovery happened in year sixty-eight of that span; the very length of time Daniel himself was in Babylon and it led Daniel to pray fervently until the sun was setting. Daniel, a man in his eighties, “wearied with weariness”, was then touched by Gabriel, the messenger bearing a message; a message that laid out the timeline of the arrival of the Messiah!

After reviewing that relatively brief prophecy and comparing those things God had given Gabriel to tell Daniel that were yet to take place, with what we now know to have happened; we are ready to resume our discovery of the little open book that the Jehovah Messenger held in His left hand in Revelation 10.

Previously, we took the time to compare the words that John heard (10:7) with the very similar encounter Daniel had with the One Dressed in Linen (Dan.12:7). Noting that the appointed time of three and a half years of which Daniel heard and that had been delayed, would no longer be delayed. The three and a half years, that we now know to be the dividing of the 70^th week, were about to start. (Remembering, of course that where John “stands”, in the Spirit, on the timeline of history is shortly after the sounding and implications of the sixth trumpet – the second woe). We also understand that once that delayed three and a half years finishes, so too does the mystery of God…and then the seventh trumpet will sound!

All of what we have covered – as mysterious and glorious as it has been – will pale in comparison to what comes next with John. (That statement is not the least bit an exaggeration!)

In John’s witness of what we read next, he again hears the Voice from heaven, the Voice that spoke to him in verse 4, which told him to seal up what the seven peals of thunder had spoken.

“Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the Messenger Who stands on the sea and on the land.” Rev.10:8b

This Voice, the Father’s voice, Who sits on the throne in heaven, first tells John to “Go.” This, at first, may seem trivial. It does however indicate a change for John. Throughout the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given by God, John is in the Spirit; an admitted mystery in that it is inexplicable. It is a state of being that only a select few have experienced since Adam’s banishment from the garden. Within that state we see John, primarily, in a position of observation and witness – in other words, not a direct participant of that which he is witnessing. But that has not always been the case. Within the task of witnessing, John also reacted, had been spoken to, responded, and expressed his own wonder to us, the hearers and readers.

Here, the command of God is direct: whatever the static or “normal” state of John “in the Spirit”, he must now go from it – go specifically to He Who holds the little open book. But not just go to Him, to then take from Him that which He brought down with Him from heaven – the little book that is open. “Take” – not ask for or wait around until it is given to him (just as the Lamb Slain “took” the sealed Book from the hand of the Father). With the spoken command, came the authority for John to act.

So I went to the Messenger, telling Him to give me the little book.

And He said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth, it will be sweet as honey.” Rev.10:9

John went to the Strong Messenger, under the authority of the command, and told Him…to “give” him the little open book – he did not, at first, “take” it. It seems John (as we can all understand) was still a bit overwhelmed by the thought – even after being commanded by the voice of the Father – of simply walking up and “taking” the book out of Jesus’ hand. Jesus’ response to John’s request: “Take it…”.

There is an opportunity for us all to glean a truth from this interchange between the man, John, and the Lord Whom he loved and had served for some eighty years. John is in the Spirit – a state of being that is clearly enabled by an act of God. He is told from the Voice from heaven to do two things: “Go” and “Take” (the word is “lambano”). John goes as commanded; but John does not “take” the book – at least not at first. John asks Jesus to “give” (the word is “didomi”) it to him.

But Jesus does not give it to John; to have done so would have facilitated a compromise of the command John had received. Instead, Jesus reiterates the order, the command, that the Father had spoken: “Take it”. (Jesus also adds a command, but we will come back to that.) We are then told by John that he “took” the little book out of the Messenger’s hand.

By drawing attention to this story, I am only trying to give us all courage in our walk with God. He does not waver, ever; and He will support us in our efforts to obey what we have heard and read – even when we do waver at the task.

In the order of God – who is God, Sovereign and Supreme – He chooses to both authorize and to allow events to occur. He wills that none would perish (and has made that a possibility) and yet He allows each of us to choose whether we will accept His Ransom or not. Here, John has been authorized – Jesus is telling John to act in the fullness of that authority; and then He adds to the command. “Eat it.”

[Some our grandchildren, after hearing talk about this event, asked if John was really commanded to eat a book (or scroll). My response: in the Spirit that may have been possible, and the language in verses 9 and 10 would certainly not discourage that conclusion. However, in the Spirit, I believe this to be a symbolic action that refers to his consuming the information in the book – making it a part of his mind, will and emotions – so that he would be able to use the contents of the book when and as the Lord might command. Much like the gift of the Spirit described in 1Cor.12:8 referred to as a word of knowledge. That said…]

Psalm 19:10, referring to the Words of God:

“They are more desirable than gold, yes, than fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

Psalm 119:103 reiterates:

“How sweet are Your spoken words to my palate! More than honey to my mouth!”

Ezekiel 3:1-3 provides us with a similar event:

Then He said to me, “Son of Adam, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So, I opened my mouth and He fed me this scroll. He said to me, “Son of Adam, feed your stomach and fill your inward parts with the scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

---

I took the little book out of the Messenger’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth, it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. Rev.10:10

John took the book by the authority of the command out of the Messenger’s left hand and consumed it. And it was as he was told it would be – sweet while he was “eating” it but bitter once it had been consumed. The “bitterness” that John is told will impact him after he has consumed the contents of the little book, is the same “bitterness” that was experienced by many after the third trumpet was sounded. This little open book is a book that contains the Words of God, words that He intends for the good of Man – we who have been created in His Image and Likeness. But for some, by their choice, it will end in judgment. John will know that all too well – as we will see.

That little book was in His left hand should also be recognized for its symbolic implications. Where the right hand was (and in some cultures still is) representative of blessing and strength; the left hand was considered the hand of correction and judgment. As we read with Ezekiel, I believe we will see with what comes next with John after consuming the contents of the little book: words and acts of correction are forthcoming.

[A detail that may seem trivial: We know it to be in His left hand because it was His right hand that He lifted to heaven when He swore by the Creator of All Things. And it was His left foot that was on the land – allowing John to approach Him and take it. Interestingly – in the Greek – though a word for “right” existed, when the “left foot” is noted in verse 2 of chapter 10 it uses a euphemistic word meaning “of good name”.

And while I am at it, it should be noted (and will become significant in the passages ahead) that when John is writing his own thoughts and actions, our translation does not use quotation marks – as can be seen in verse 10 above. Whereas when others (here the Father and Son) or even John himself are quoted, the translation notes it with the use of quotation marks.

Lastly – at least for now – I consider the little open book to contain all of the words of prophecy and visions of future events which Daniel experienced – both those explained and those concealed.]

And They were saying to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” Then there was given me a reed like a staff; saying, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.” Rev.10:11-11:1

The immediate and direct consequence of John’s obedience is the declaration of another commission. John is told that he must – it is absolutely necessary that he – prophecy again. And whether the condition “again” (or “further”) refers to John’s prior ministry of prophesying or simply of the need for prophecies to be again declared is less important than that of “must”. This declares the same degree of importance, given by the Father when He called John up to heaven to see “what must come into being” in Revelation 4:1.

This is not a consequential condition; meaning that it is not dependent on anything in order for it to occur. It is a condition that will result in consequences. This is language that is seldom used in the dealings of God with His free-willed creatures. All of which points to the importance of what is about to happen because John obeyed the commands to “Go, Take, and Eat”.

John has been commissioned – told that he must prophesy further. It is my opinion, from research I have done, that too little is made of this commissioning. To the point that most expositors present no specific indication that it was ever acted upon. At most, reference is made to the general prophetic nature of the Revelation (though if that were to be the commission’s fulfillment, it came very late in the story – with only a short time before the seventh trumpet sounds). As we will see, this is fulfilled in the chapters ahead; the full actualization with the powerful implications of John’s taking in (eating) the little, open book.

It also makes sense to take a look at what John has been commissioned to do from the implications of our experiences today.

Prophecy, as a gift and a means of communication, can be confusing – especially where we stand on the timeline of the week of Redemption. That said, even in the Old Testament, the determination of what made someone a “nabi” (a “prophet”), was easily confused. Those who, after time, were proven by the standards of God to be a true prophet were often persecuted and even killed because what they had to say was offensive to the rulers, priests or people in general. Others who claimed to be speaking “thus says the Lord” messages were exalted by kings and dignitaries even though their words never were fulfilled and, in some cases, they (the false prophets AND those who heeded them) experienced the judgment of God.

In both Testaments, the act of prophesying took two forms: the foretelling (which can only be done by the power of God – for only He knows the events of history that have yet to occur within the confines of time) and the forthtelling or proclaiming of the Words of the Lord.

The latter form refers more to what we might think of as preaching or even teaching. The act of drawing edification (building up), encouragement (to give aid to), and comfort from the written words and sharing them with those with whom one fellowships in Christ. The gift from the Spirit that Paul tells us in 1Cor.14 all believers can do, one by one; would qualify under the heading of forth-telling. Though judgment (“diakrino”) was encouraged, Paul only applied the general idea of decency and order to its function within the fellowships of saints.

The rules for those claiming to foretell a word from God (as opposed to “of God”) are much more rigorous. Moses, in preparing the people to enter their inheritance, reminds them of the Laws the Lord has given; including those of prophecy.

‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ “You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’ “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Deut.18:20-22

Included in his reminder is the means by which forthtelling (and therefore the validity of the prophet) should be judged: “if the thing does not come about or come true”.

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, all recognized as prophets, called out the works of the false prophets. Jesus warns His people that false prophets and false Christs will afflict them, especially as the time of the end draws close. And that just because men speak well of someone does not – by itself – indicate the status of one’s prophetic ministry, whether true or false. Peter (2Pet.2:1f) warns of false prophets and false teachers who “will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them…” And John (1John 4:1) encourages all of us to “not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Then there was given me a reed like a staff; saying, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months. Rev.11:1-2

John was commissioned to prophecy and to measure. However, the act of his measuring is never recorded – even symbolically – nor is this reed seen again throughout the Revelation. That is unless it is in his very act of disclosing and declaring those things that must come into being relative to this commission that equips and enables us (as the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells) to be measured – our prayers, our worship, and our dedication to that plan of God! Which would also make clear our separation from that which will not be measured.

A reed is symbolic of judging a thing or person against the standard established by God. So, we might ask: “was measuring a part of the commission or a prophetic act that somehow foreshadows the fulfillment of it, the original first-hand experience for John in the Spirit?” The latter explanation seems more relevant.

The limitations of John’s measuring (in whatever form it took in the Spirit) consist of what he should measure, followed by what he should not – and why. As for what he should measure, three things are given.

1) The temple of God: Most certainly, at this time of history (circa 96 AD or An. Hom. 4133), after the destruction of Jerusalem and the 2^nd Temple in 70 AD, would be either spiritual or symbolic – meaning either a reference to the true temple in heaven (the shadow of which became the pattern for Moses as he drew up the plans for the tabernacle of God in the wilderness) or to the people of the New Covenant who are the Temple of God, the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. (The temple in heaven certainly did not need to be measured, even symbolically.)

2) The altar: This would be the golden altar we have seen in the Revelation a couple of times already and which represents the prayers of the saints.

3) Those who worship in it (meaning the temple): This seems a bit of a redundancy since the people are the Temple. The context of the phrase could simply be a reference to “the worship” itself.

Together, appropriating the last suggestion, we would read John’s commission to “measure with the reed like a staff” as: measure the people of God who are the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, their prayers and their worship. And we would understand that it will be the very words he is given to declare that will “be” the standard by which we are measured.

What he was asked to measure in verse 1 is contrasted with what he is told not to measure, in fact what he is told to cast away, in verse 2. “Cast away the court…” The court of the first temple (“Solomon’s Temple”) contained the brazen altar for the sacrifices and the brazen “sea” for the priest to use. The 2^nd temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD (as the Lord had foretold) had several court yards for different purposes. At the time John received this commission, neither remained, and so the symbolic act continues with the inclusion of this phrase.

The Lord is clearly using the language of the temple to make a point, a point that may be lost on us who are this far removed from the Temple’s destruction and without the hundreds of years of the tradition of Mosaic forms of worship. Overall, the implications here are more about why John was told to cast it away, than anything directly related to a feature of a temple that no longer stood.

There is imbedded, in the last phrase of verse 2, a term that reminds us of the book of Daniel. “For it (the court which is outside the temple) has been given over to the nations; and they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months.” The nations will tread down the holy city, not just the court…for forty-two months…or three and a half years! (Compare to Dan.12:7; 8:9-13; 7:23-26 which have been reviewed in previous posts within this series.) As we remember from our examination of the prophecy that Gabriel brought to Daniel, it was notable that all but the last three and a half years were directly accounted for and yet, Daniel was given the promise of desolation and destruction still to come AFTER the midst of the week.

To reiterate – after the declaration by the Strong Messenger that the delay would end, John is told to “Go, take the book which is open…” He, after asking for it to be given to him, is told by Jesus to “Take it and eat it…” John then consumed the book (which most expositors believe to be some or all of the prophecies of Daniel). He is then told by the Father and Jesus (for it is “They” who next instruct John) to “prophesy further concerning many peoples and nations and tongues (languages) and kings.” And finally to “Get up and measure…” – but not the courts which will be trodden down with the rest of the holy city by the Gentiles (nations) for three and a half years (42 months).

“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” Rev.11:3

And then we are introduced, by God Himself (note the quotation marks and the continuation of “Them saying”), to two witnesses. Two witnesses (the word is “martus”) who will prophesy; prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days; which equates to forty-two months of thirty days each.

We now have: “they will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months” and “I will grant my two witnesses and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth”. Two spans of time for two seemingly divergent events; both which align with the unaccounted for time period that would complete the seventieth week.

Are these separate, though possibly consecutive, three and a half year periods or separate, though concurrent events during the single, unaccounted for three and a half years from the prophecy which Gabriel brought? Is John being told, that while the city is being trodden down the two witnesses will be prophesying – with humility and an attitude of supplication (which is what being clothed in sackcloth would symbolize) or that the two events are unrelated, at least in the time they are experienced?

As we near the end of today’s post I want to address those questions by describing the position I have taken and why I have taken it.

I believe the “map” of the ministry of the Anointed Prince was given to Daniel (and therefore us) directly from God by the chief messenger, Gabriel. I believe that the accuracy of that prophecy did not end after it had identified, as the beginning of the 70^th week, the very act of Jesus’ baptism, anointing and commendation from the Father in heaven when He was “about thirty years”. I believe that He had made a covenant of one week and that we experience that “week” in two ways. In the Week of Redemption (a week of millennia) and in His combined ministry under the New Covenant containing the three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry on earth before the Cross and the last three and a half years with Jesus on the throne in heaven, shepherding the nations with the rod of iron.

It is of this last three and a half years that the book of Daniel speaks, multiple times – though Daniel’s visions focus on the earthly kingdom that will dominate during this time. We know from Daniel that the last three and a half years are the “appointed time of the end”. What we didn’t learn from Daniel however – at least to the same level of detail – is how the Anointed Prince’s ministry from Heaven will be experienced by Mankind. I believe that was what was sealed up or concealed in the words to Daniel, and specifically the words to Daniel from Gabriel. And that is what John has now been commissioned to prophesy.

The “interruption”; what we know as chapter 10 of the Revelation – and all that follows the encounter between the Father, with the Strong Messenger (Jesus), and John – must have been extremely important. Why else did it happen when it did?

---

---

In the next several posts in this series we will be made aware of other events that span the same appointed time as the second half of the 70^th week; events that are detailed in chapters 11-13 of the Revelation. It is my understanding that these events, what are described in three distinct narratives, run concurrently and together tell the epic tale of the last three and a half years of the sixth day of the Redemptive Week.

I do understand that there are a significant number of people who resist the idea that the event “in the midst of the week” forecasted or implied a gap of time. Whether that gap equaled the 32 years from the crucifixion to the destruction of Jerusalem or the roughly two thousand years that we have lived since, neither is found by them to be warranted. They see the entire 70^th week as running from end to end. This means that the week (and therefore the entirety of the prophecy) culminated sometime around the stoning of Stephen.

And though I understand their resistance, there are two very strong reasons why I do not agree with that conclusion. The first is a view from a high level, general perspective. In the Eternal Now of God – the Always, Everywhere, All at Once in which He lives – these “gaps” are relatively insignificant. To God, two thousand years are the same as two days. But maybe more satisfying to those desiring proof, there are many examples of such gaps both in the lives of the people of Israel and in the prophecies of Jesus’ first and second advents. Among the many is the one Jesus Himself invoked from Isaiah 61! (See Luke 4:16-21)

The second is that within the Book of the Revelation, which contains over fifty mentions of the number “7” in some form or another, there is nowhere that we are told of a “full week” or of seven years, 84 months, or 2,520 days. There are, however, five occasions, as we will see, that some form of a half of a week of years are given.

What John experiences here, in this divine interruption, includes the calling out of the unique and, as I see it, undeniable resolution to the “missing” second half of the week from Daniel chapter 9. The measured time of three and a half years (in any of its forms) can be found only in Daniel…and in the Revelation – but only after John eats the little book that is open, taken from the hand of He Who swore that there would be no more delay.

We have been given a time – an appointed time – of one half of a week of years: three and a half years after which the mystery of God will be completed…and God’s word both describes it in epic detail and affirms it by the mouth of two or three witnesses!