The second heaven is outside the holy city, reserved for the overcomers in hell.

2. The second heaven is outside the holy city, reserved for the overcomers in hell.

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. (NIV, Revelation 20:13)

In the spiritual world of hell, it is an extremely dark place with no light except for the dim light of fire. Thousands of souls are imprisoned there, all of whom are immersed in the marinating flames and subjected to the cruelty of evil spirits. of torture. Every soul has no peace day and night, and screams loudly and painfully every day! The Bible says:  where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched. (NIV, Mark 9:48).

At the end of the millennium, the dead will be released from hell and will be judged according to their deeds before the great white throne! If their names are written in the book of life, they are the ones who have been purified by the fire of Hades; these people will enter the second heaven, that is, worship God in the holy place in heaven!

There are two main categories of overcomers released from hell:

⑴ The first category is God’s people who abide by the law

 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”(NIV, Revelation 21:3-4)

Mourning, crying, pain... these describe the miserable conditions of torture in the underworld. There, a foul smell of corpses filled the air; miserable screams, crying, and wailing... filled the entire space. Everyone must endure the burning of fire, the bite of immortal insects, and the torture of demons... Let me warn you honestly, never go to that scary place! The human soul is eternal, and it is the real you. If your soul suffers in the underworld after death, you will be greatly sad!

In Luke Chapter 16, there was a rich man who was a descendant of Abraham. He wore purple robes and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. Another beggar, named Lazarus, was covered with sores. He was left at the rich man's door to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs came to eat his sores. The beggar died and was placed in Abraham's arms by an angel. The rich man also died and was tormented in Hades. When he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom, he cried out:

So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ (NIV, Luke 16:24)

This rich man belonged to the descendants of Jacob. The scripture says: “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. (NIV, Malachi 3:6) After he was released from Hades, he entered the second world. Worship and serve in heaven; at that time, God will comfort him and wipe away all his tears! These descendants of Jacob sang praises in the tabernacle (tent of meeting) according to the provisions of the law, and God himself would be with them.

⑵. Kind-hearted foreigners

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. 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. (NIV, Revelation 11:1-2)

The courtyard outside the temple mentioned here refers to the outer courtyard of this magnificent temple in heaven, which will be reserved for good-hearted Gentiles who have not heard the gospel. The souls of these people after death will be taken to the intermediate spiritual world by angels. After passing the training, the Lord will send people to preach blessings; those who accept salvation will enter the first heaven (the lowest heaven), where the Holy Worship and service in the outer courtyard of the place.

①.Persistently do good deeds

To those (Gentiles) who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. (NIV, Romans 2:7)

Gentiles who persevere in doing good deeds and seek glory and honor can also be saved. They have no chance to hear the gospel during their lifetime, but they have heaven in their hearts. They persevere in doing good deeds and seek glory. They believe in God and are willing to be led by God. When these people die, their souls will not go to hell, but will wait in the intervening spiritual world.

②. People who act according to conscience

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. (NIV, Romans 2:14)

Although the Gentiles do not have the law, as long as they act according to their conscience, use their conscience to judge right and wrong, and do the things of the law according to their nature, this will show the function of the law and be engraved in their hearts. When these people die, their souls will not go to hell, but will wait in the intervening spiritual world.

③. Even the dead have the gospel preached to them

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (NIV, 1 Peter 4:6)

Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? (NIV, 1 Corinthians 15:29)

The above-mentioned people are all kind-hearted Gentiles, but they have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel of the Lord. After they die, their souls will be taken to the intermediate spiritual world to receive education and training from angels; after a period of time when they are qualified, the Lord Jesus will send people to bring them the gospel.

As long as they confess their sins, repent, and receive the salvation of the Lord Christ, they will be taken by angels into the first heaven, which is the lowest heaven of the Kingdom of God. They belong to the outer court and will be matched with believers of the same class. They will worship and serve God together!

X. Two Witnesses in the Great Tribulation

And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (NIV, Revelation 11:3)

During the great tribulation, God will raise up two servants of God to preach for 1,260 days. These two witnesses are generally believed to be Moses and Elijah.

1. Two Witnesses

(1) Moses

Moses was 120 years old when he died, and his eyesight was not dim, nor his spirit weakened! Such a healthy and elderly man could climb to the top of Mount Nebo, about 2,600 meters above sea level, but he suddenly died; in the end, the LORD himself buried him, and no one knew where his grave was (Deuteronomy 34:1-7).

Sadhu Sundar Singh is an Indian evangelist. Like Paul, he experienced being raptured to the third heaven! The following is his testimony:

When a Christian dies, only his soul goes to heaven while his body is buried and decays! But there are very few people, such as Enoch and Elijah, who were raptured alive. These two have souls and spiritual bodies in heaven; this special situation also applies to Moses! He is similar to the Lord Jesus, who died, resurrected, was ascended to heaven, and his physical body was transformed into an immortal spiritual body.

Moses performed ten great miracles in Egypt, having the authority to turn water into blood and to strike the land of Egypt with all kinds of plagues (Revelation 11:6; Exodus 7:20).

In Revelation 11, one of the two witnesses has the power to turn water into blood and to strike the world with all kinds of plagues; this one must be Moses (Revelation 11:6).

(2) Elijah

The Bible records that Elijah did not die, but he went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Elijah wore a woolen garment and burned his enemies with fire (Revelation 11:5; 2 Kings 1:8, 10), and he could shut up the heavens and stop the rain (1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5: 17,18).

This fits the description in Revelation 11. When these two preach during the great tribulation, if anyone wants to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths and consume their enemies; anyone who wants to harm them will be burned to death in this way. They also shut up the sky so that it would not rain.

One of the two men had fire coming out of his mouth and shut up the heavens so that no rain fell; this proves that this man must be Elijah (Revelation 11:5-6).

⑶. Moses and Elijah talked with the Lord

Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.(NIV, Matthew 17:3)

Luke 9:28-31 also mentions this incident: About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

This incident also predicted that in the great tribulation of the end of the world, Moses and Elijah would appear together and preach on earth for three and a half years, witnessing Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, burial, resurrection, being taken up to heaven, and giving the promised Holy Spirit. This is the salvation that the Lord has accomplished on earth.

⑷. Witness

The original meaning of witness is "eyewitness" or "witness", that is, someone who sees or hears something with his own eyes or ears; a witness also refers to a person who provides testimony in court to confirm the authenticity of an event.

The mission of Moses and Elijah was to bear witness to Jesus Christ, just as the Lord Jesus said: 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.” (NIV, Acts 1:8)

Just imagine, the combination of Moses and Elijah, preaching the gospel of Christ together, what a powerful witnessing team they would be! The two were Israel's most respected leaders and prophets, and they were able to rely on the Holy Spirit to perform miracles and wonders to testify to God's chosen people that Jesus was their Messiah.

5. Witness: Blood, Water, and the Holy Spirit

These two witnesses preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus: blood, water, and the Holy Spirit!

Paul said, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (NIV, 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4)

John said, “There are three that bear witness: the Holy Spirit (baptism by the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues), water (baptism by water, immersion of the whole body in water), and blood (baptism by blood, humble confession of sins, repentance, and asking the Lord’s precious blood to wash away sins). The Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (NIV, 1 John 5:8)

⑹. Why two witnesses?

The law requires two or more witnesses to verify the authenticity and authority of anything. The Bible says, “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (NIV, Deuteronomy 19:15)

When the Lord Jesus sent out His disciples to preach, they also went out in pairs. The Bible says, “Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.” (NIV, Mark 6:7)

⑺. Two Witnesses of the Lord’s Resurrection

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. (NIV, Luke 24:1-4)

This passage says that on the morning of Jesus' resurrection, the women did not find Jesus' body and were wondering why two men stood by and asked, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?" The original text is "men" or human "messengers". They are the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection.

Are these two men Moses and Elijah? After all, they were with Jesus on the mountain before His crucifixion, discussing His death. Could it be that Jesus appointed two people to be the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection and to testify to Jesus' resurrection to the Jews in the last days?

2. Two people were martyred, resurrected and ascended to heaven

Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. (NIV, Revelation 11:7)

These two witnesses were defeated by the beast from the bottomless pit and were killed as martyrs. The two beasts, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, did not allow people to put their bodies in the grave. People from all over the world came to the scene or watched their bodies on video for three and a half days.

These two witnesses are messengers of the gospel, bringing the salvation of Jesus Christ to the people on earth during the three and a half years of the great tribulation. Those who refuse to accept salvation are succumbing to the tyranny of Satan and compromising. Those who worship the image of the beast, receive the mark of the beast, and ultimately sell their souls.

Anyone on earth who rejoices over the killing of these two witnesses, or even sends gifts to one another to celebrate, is a follower of the beast. These people will face the tragic fate of death, and their final destination will be the lake of fire. They will ultimately perish and suffer in sulfur and fire forever and ever!

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. 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.

3. The bodies of the two men were found lying in the streets of the city.

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. (NIV, Revelation 11:8)

Which city is this big city referring to? Is there any special spiritual meaning? Now we can know the clues from the Bible that this city was called Sodom, Egypt, and it was where Jesus was crucified. This city is Babylon (the great prostitute), because it is the only one that meets the above three conditions.

⑴. Sodom

The great city of Babylon will be burned by fire from heaven, just as Sodom was burned by fire, and the fire will be as fierce as a furnace. The Bible says, Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the pride and glory of the Babylonians,will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. (NIV, Isaiah 13:19)

2. Egypt

The great city of Babylon was a symbol of rebellion against God, and it took God’s people captive as slaves. When the king of Babylon captured Jerusalem, he not only seized the land of Judah, but also took away many intelligent and talented people, including Daniel and Three friends, Ezekiel...

Egypt, like Babylon, treated the Israelites like slaves. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. (NIV, Exodus 3:7)

⑶. The place where Jesus was crucified

Babylon is the great prostitute! It is written, I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. ." (NIV, Revelation 17:6)

This city has the same nature as Jerusalem, which is that it kills God’s chosen people and Christians; this persecution of the Israelites and God’s children is just like the Jews in Jerusalem who persecuted the Lord Jesus and crucified Him on the cross.

The Lord Jesus said: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (NIV, Luke 13:34)

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