November 30, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Grief and Encouragement

November 30, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Grief and Encouragement

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Grief and Encouragement

Matthew 17:22-23 – New International Version (NIV)

²² “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. ²³ They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.”

Where did they come together (verse 22)?

Who did Jesus say the “Son of Man” would be delivered to (verse 22)?

What will the “hands of men” do to the “Son of Man” (verse 23)?

When will the “Son of Man” be raised to life (verse 23)?

In your opinion, why, when this passage ends with something joyful, were the disciples filled with grief (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 17:22-23 show us about the Great Commission?

Judges 11:29-40 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. ³⁰ And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

³² Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. ³³ He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”

³⁶ “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. ³⁷ But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

³⁸ “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. ³⁹ After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

From this comes the Israelite tradition ⁴⁰ that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.”

Who came upon Jephthah (verse 29)?

What did Jephthah do (verse 29)?

Who did Jephthah make a vow to (verse 30)?

What vow did Jephthah make (verse 31)?

In your opinion, why did Jephthah make a vow (verse 31)?

How did the battle go (verse 32)?

How many towns did Jephthah devastate to subdue Ammon (verse 33)?

Who came out to meet Jephthah (verse 34)?

Why did Jephthah tear his clothes (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why does Jephthah's daughter respond as she does (verse 36)?

What is her request (verse 37)?

Why did she weep (verse 38)?

What did she do after two months (verse 39)?

Who continues to remember the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite (verse 40)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the grief of the Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11:29-40 and the grief of the disciples in Matthew 17:22-23?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Judges show us about the Great Commission?

2 Corinthians 2:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. ² For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? ³ I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. ⁴ For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

⁵ If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. ⁶ The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. ⁷ Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, ¹¹ in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

What was Paul not going to do (verse 1)?

Why did Paul write as he did (verse 3)?

How does Paul feel about the Corinthian Christians (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was Paul in “great distress and anguish of heart” when he wrote the Corinthians (verse 4)?

What did Paul want to show when he wrote (verse 4)?

Who has the person who has caused grief grieved (verse 5)?

Who inflicted the punishment (verse 6)?

Why should the Corinthian Christians “forgive and comfort him” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Paul urge them to “reaffirm your love for him” (verse 8)?

What was Paul’s other reason to write (verse 9)?

Who does Paul forgive (verse 10)?

Why has Paul forgiven “in the sight of Christ for your sake” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is different about the grief that Paul caused in writing to the Corinthians that he refers to in 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 and the grief that Jephthah caused by his vow to the Lord in Judges 11:29-40?

In your opinion, how is the grief of the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 2:1-11 different from the grief of the disciples in Matthew 17:22-23?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 2 Corinthians show us about the Great Commission? 

   

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Why does Paul not want the Thessalonians to be uninformed “about those who sleep in death” (verse 13)?

What do those who are uninformed not have (verse 13)?

Who died and rose again (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why do we believe that “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (verse 14)?

Who will not precede those who have fallen asleep (verse 15)?

Where will the Lord come down from (verse 16)?

What will happen with “a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (verse 16)?

What will happen “after that” (verse 17)?

Where will we be forever (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why should we “encourage one another with these words” (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is different about the grief “like the rest of mankind” in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and the grief of the Corinthians that Paul’s letter caused in 2 Corinthians 2:1-11?

In your opinion, what is the difference in the relationship with God that Paul demonstrated in the discussion about resurrection 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Jephthah who bargains with God as he prepares to fight the Ammonites in Judges 11:29-40?

In your opinion, how it a fulfillment of the words of Jesus in Matthew 17:22-23 that “they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life” for Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to say that “we believe that Jesus died and rose again”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Thessalonians show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 17:24 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 23, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Faith and Love

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Faith and Love

Matthew 17:14-20 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

¹⁷ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Who did the man approach (verse 14)?

What was wrong with the man’s son (verse 15)?

Who was not able to help the son (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “you unbelieving and perverse generation how long shall I stay with you” (verse 17)?

Who did Jesus rebuke (verse 18)?

What happened to the boy (verse 18)?

Where was Jesus when the disciples ask “why couldn’t we drive it out” (verse 19)?

Why couldn’t the disciples drive it out (verse 20)?

How much faith does it take to move a mountain (verse 20)?

What is impossible (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 17:14-20 show us about the Great Commission?

Zechariah 4:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. ² He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. ³ Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

⁴ I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”

⁵ He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I replied.

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

⁷ “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”

Who returned and woke Zechariah up, “like someone awakened from sleep” (verse 1)?

What did Zechariah see (verse 2)?

Where were the two olive trees (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Zechariah ask “what are these, my lord” (verse 4)?

How did the angel respond to Zechariah (verse 5)?

What is the “word of the Lord to Zerubbabel” (verse 6)?

How will “mighty mountain” change before Zerubbabel (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the bringing out of the capstone to shouts of “God bless it! God bless it!” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the connection between the “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” in Zechariah 4:1-7 and the “nothing will be impossible for you” in Matthew 17:14-20?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Zechariah show us about the Great Commission?

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

What gives meaning to speaking “in the tongues of men or of angels” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, how does love give value to being able to “fathom all mysteries” and to “faith that can move mountains” (verse 2)?

How much is gained if everything is given to the poor without love (verse 3)?

What is love and what is it not (verse 4)?

What does love not do (verse 5)?

How does love react to truth (verse 6)?

When does love protect, trust, hope and persevere (verse 7)?

What happens to: love - _______________, prophecies - _______________, tongues - _______________, and knowledge - _______________ (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why do we “know in part” and “prophesy in part” (verse 9)?

Where does “what is in part” go when completeness comes (verse 10)?

What changed when Paul became a man (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between the “now” and the “then” (verse 12)?

What is the greatest of the three that remain (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how is the love, as defined in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, of God demonstrated in the statement from the Lord to Zerubbabel that said “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit”?

In your opinion, how does the statement that “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 expand our understanding of the statement that Jesus made in Matthew 17:14-20 that “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Corinthians show us about the Great Commission?

1 Peter 4:7-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. ⁸ Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. ¹¹ If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

What is near (verse 7)?

Why should we be “alert and of sober mind” (verse 7)?

How should we “love each other” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how does love cover a multitude of sins (verse 8)?

How should we “offer hospitality” (verse 9)?

What should we do with the gifts that we have (verse 10)?

How should the one who speaks speak (verse 11)?

With what should the one who serves serve (verse 11)?

In what should God be “praised through Jesus Christ” (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how does the statement in 1 Peter 4:7-11 to “above all, love each other deeply” amplify the statement in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 that “these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”?

In your opinion, how is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:1-7 “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” expanded on in 1 Peter 4:7-11 by the instruction to the one who speaks to “do so as one who speaks the very words of God” and to the one who serves to do so “with the strength God provides”?

In your opinion, how powerful is the faith that Jesus demonstrated in healing the demon possessed boy in Matthew 17:14-20 when combined with the love discussed in 1 Peter 4:7-11 that Jesus demonstrated that “covers over a multitude of sins” including all our sins when He went to the cross?

In your opinion, what does this passage from 1 Peter show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 17:22 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

November 16, 2014 – The Great Commission – A Study of Matthew – Jesus and Witnesses

Matthew 28:18-20 – New International Version (NIV) – The Great Commission

¹⁸ “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus and Witnesses

Matthew 17:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

¹⁰ The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹² But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.”

Who went with Jesus up a high mountain (verse 1)?

What happened to Jesus there that caused His face to shine like the sun and His clothes to become as white as light (verse 2)?

Who appeared before the disciples talking with Jesus (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why did Peter suggest putting up three shelters (verse 4)?

What did the voice from the bright cloud say (verse 5)?

How did the disciples respond to the voice (verse 6)?

Who touched the disciples and comforted them (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what happened to Elijah and Moses (verse 8)?

When were the disciples to tell what they had seen (verse 9)?

Who said that Elijah must come first (verse 10)?

What did Jesus say Elijah was going to do when he came (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was “Elijah” not recognized when he came (verse 12)?

What happened to Elijah (verse 12)?

What is going to happen to the “Son of Man” (verse 12)?

Who was Jesus talking about when He was talking about Elijah (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Matthew 17:1-13 show us about the Great Commission?

Malachi 4:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. ³ Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

What will the day burn like when it comes (verse 1)?

Who will be stubble that the “day that is coming” will set on fire (verse 1)?

Who will “frolic like well-fed calves” when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays” (verse 2)?

What will the wicked be “on the day when” the Lord Almighty acts (verse 3)?

How is Moses identified (verse 4)?

What did the Lord Almighty give to Moses at Horeb (verse 4)?

When will the prophet Elijah be sent (verse 5)?

What will Elijah do (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of Moses and Elijah being mentioned in the last chapter in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:1-7, and also being a part of the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-13?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Malachi show us about the Great Commission?

Acts 1:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

¹⁰ They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Who was written about in the former book (verse 1)?

What did He give to the Holy Spirit to the apostles (verse 2)?

How many times did Jesus appear to the disciples (verse 3)?

Where were the disciples to stay until they received “the gift” (verse 4)?

How are the disciples to be baptized (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why did the disciples ask, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel” (verse 6)?

Who has set the “times or dates” (verse 7)?

When will the disciples receive power (verse 8)?

What will the disciples be when they receive power (verse 8)?

How did Jesus leave the disciples (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why were the disciples “looking intently up into the sky” (verse 10)?

What is the promise is given about Jesus (verse 11)?

In your opinion, how does the statement that Jesus “who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” in Acts 1:1-11 expand our understanding of “that great and dreadful day of the Lord” that is proclaimed in Malachi 4:1-6?

In your opinion, how is the transfiguration of Jesus that occurred in Matthew 17:1-13 a foreshadowing of Jesus being taken into heaven of Acts 1:1-11?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Acts show us about the Great Commission?

    

Revelation 11:1-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” ⁵ If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

⁷ Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. ⁸ Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹ For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. ¹⁰ The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.”

What was John given (verse 1)?

Why is the outer court not be measured (verse 2)?

How long are the two witnesses to prophesy (verse 3)?

Where do the two witnesses stand (verse 4)?

What happens to those who try to harm the two witnesses (verse 5)?

In your opinion, why are the powers to “shut up the heavens” and to “turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague” significant (verse 6)?

What happens when the testimony of the two witnesses is finished (verse 7)?

Where will the bodies lay (verse 8)?

Who will gaze on their bodies (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why will the inhabitants of earth gloat and send each other gifts (verse 10)?

What enters the bodies at the end of three and a half days (verse 11)?

Where did the voice come from (verse 12)?

How did they go to heaven (verse 12)?

In your opinion, why would the survivors give glory to God (verse 13)?

What has passed and what is coming (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the significance of the fact that the two witnesses were taken to heaven in a cloud in Revelation 11:1-14 and that Jesus was taken up “before their very eyes” in Acts 1:1-11?

In your opinion, what can we deduce from the fact that the miracles that the two witnesses do in Revelation 11:1-14 were the miracles that Moses (calling the plagues) and Elijah (shutting up the heavens so that it does not rain) were known for, who are both mentioned in Malachi 4:1-6 which also discusses the “great and dreadful day of the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does the calling of the two witnesses to heaven, where Jesus was already raised to, in Revelation 11:1-14 complete a reunion of the three who were together at the transfiguration described in Matthew 17:1-13?

In your opinion, what does this passage from Revelation show us about the Great Commission?

Next, back to Matthew 17:14 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)