THE SHATTERING OF THE POWER OF THE HOLY PEOPLE
Revelation 10, which includes the seven thunders and the finishing of “the mystery of God,” is paralleled by Daniel 12, as outlined at the beginning of this chapter.
| REVELATION 10 | DANIEL 12 |
|---|---|
| “The angel…raised up his hand to heaven” (v. 5) | “The man….held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven” (v. 7) |
| (he) “swore by Him who lives forever and ever” (v. 6) | (he) “swore by Him who lives forever” (v. 7) |
| “In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound” (v. 7) | “When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered” (v. 7) |
| “the mystery of God would be finished” (v. 7) | “All these things shall be finished” (v. 7) |
The verse which corresponds to Revelation 10:7 (the mystery of God would be finished”) is Daniel 12:7 (“all these things shall be finished”). The dialogue between two angels began with the question, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” In both Daniel and Revelation the angel raised his hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever. In Revelation the angel said, “In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished.” In Daniel he said, “when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7).
As we saw in the previous section, the finishing of the mystery of God is the winning of the great multitude out of Babylon, in other words, when "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord (Revelation 11:15). According to Daniel 12:7, this will happen “when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered.” The corresponding verse, Revelation 10:7, shows that “the power of the holy people” will be “completely shattered” “in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound.”[1]
Who are the "holy people?" In the Old Testament, the “holy people” are the children of Israel, in contrast to the Gentiles around them (Deuteronomy 7:6, Isaiah 63: 17,18). The book of Deuteronomy shows that a particular identifying mark of the “holy people” is that they keep all of God’s commandments.[2] The “holy people” are also identified in Isaiah as those who proclaim the coming of the Lord to the ends of the earth.[3] The corresponding “holy people” in the book of Revelation are the 144,000. They also are “of the children of Israel” (7:4), they “keep the commandments of God” (14:12) and have “the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue and people” (14:6).
According to Daniel 12:7, the “holy people”, known in Revelation as the 144,000 or the “two witnesses,” will have an experience during the time of trouble which will shatter their power. Revelation 11 shows that this will take place after they have given their testimony to the world. “When they [the two witnesses] finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them…and they that dwell on the earth will rejoice over them” (Revelation 11:7-10).[4] The wrath of the whole world will be focused upon them, they will be blamed for the time of trouble, and the majority will reject their mjessage and follow the beast. But when they feel like they have reached the end of their endurance, God Himself will intervene. “The Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their power is gone” (Deuteronomy 32:36).[5]
The Christian life, from start to finish, is a continual dying to self. The irony is that there is always more to die; self has a way of hiding or being resurrected so that sin still has a stronghold in the soul. But in the final experience of the 144,000 self will die completely, so that only Jesus will be seen in His resurrection power, and this will be a powerful witness to the world. “Those from the peoples, tribes, tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days…now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them…and the rest were afraid, and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Revelation 11:9-13). This story will be explained more fully in 11:7-10, The Two Witnesses Killed.
Continue to next section: 10:8-11 EATING THE LITTLE BOOK
[1] The time when the “seventh angel... is about to sound” is the time of the ministry of the “two witnesses” as outlined in chapter 11. The “shattering of the power of the holy people” is analogous to the killing of the two witnesses (see 11:7-10 The Two Witnesses Killed).
[2] “The Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people... that you should keep all His commandments... and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 26:18,19, 7:6, 14:2, 28:9).
[3] “Prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the peoples! The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world:…Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him…and they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called Sought Out” (Isaiah 62:10-12). The fact that they are called “Sought out” is another clue to their end-time identity. In the last days the “nations” will seek God’s true people, recognizing their real relationship with God—“In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23).
[4] This episode is found in Revelation 11: 11-13, just before the sounding of the seventh trumpet (Revelation 11:15). Thus it fits the specifications of Revelation 10:7, that the “mystery of God will be finished” “in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound”.
[5] This refers to the experience of God’s people as they face the “image of the beast” which will “cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” and “to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark” (Revelation 13:15-17).