三个半 Three and a half

Title: Three and a half
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee
Date: 26th Feb 2023

Have you ever heard of the Miracle of Istanbul [1]? Although it wasn’t anything supernatural, many football fans would claim that something extraordinary happened. The Miracle of Istanbul is a Champions League finals match between AC Milan and Liverpool played in the city of Istanbul in 2005. AC Milan was heavily favored to win. [2] True enough, after the first half, AC Milan was already 3-0 up. As you might have guessed, or maybe you already knew because even a non-football fan like me knew of this incredulous story, it was called the Miracle of Istanbul because Liverpool equalized in the second half 3-3, and then went on to win the Champions League final at the penalty shoot-out.

Skeptics might say that such “miracles” happen in every sport. Near-impossible comeback wins are practically the classic storyline of most of the sports movies ever made. Nonetheless, I started with a sports analogy because I believe we can all identify with those moments when all hope fades away when the odds are extremely stacked against us. Those moments when you know it in your heart that the opponent is mightier and stronger. Those moments when you have tried your best repeatedly, and failed repeatedly, and gradually the failures have become frustrations, and frustrations turn into humiliations until you cannot wait for the entire situation to end. And back to the football analogy, maybe you can identify with one of those moments when you are like the Liverpool goalkeeper at half time, you’re no longer thinking about winning, but about scoring just one goal and not losing too badly.

Brothers and sisters, this was one of those moments for the seven churches when John was writing the letter of Revelation to them. The seven churches knew it in their hearts that the Romans could easily crush them like nothing. They were just a bunch of small groups against the infamous strength of the Roman empire. When Julius Caesar boasted, “I came, I saw, I conquered” [3], he was merely stating facts, because that’s just how quickly the Romans wiped out their enemies. In footballing terms, the seven churches defending against Rome were not even like Liverpool playing against AC Milan, they were more like a bunch preschool children up against, well … …, AC Milan. Those who were faithful were imprisoned and killed. But many others had given up through compromising their faith, through apostasy, and through assimilation into Rome. So, at that point in history, they were not just down 3-0. More like down 30-0.

But I suspect that many of us still believe in the miracle of David versus Goliath. [4] Even when the going gets tough, and it is against all odds, there will be those who will hold on to finish the race courageously. In fact, out of the seven churches, at least 3 or 4 of them, such as Smyrna and Pergamum, were praised for their perseverance. It ain’t over till it’s over. But whereas in sports, there are clear start-and-finish indicators, either through timed durations or reaching a winning score, sometimes in real-life situations, the true difficulty lies in not knowing where the finish line is. For the seven churches who were facing daily persecution, they had no idea if the persecutions had only barely started, or if they were already at the half time, or perhaps it was already game over. Each of these possibilities could imply a drastically different level of psychological toughness needed to face the mental pressure of the situation. I believe the vision in Revelation 11 addresses this critical issue. At which stage of the fight or struggle were the seven churches facing? Using the football analogy again, were they in the first half, or half-time, or were they already in the second half, or maybe these were in fact the final minutes of extra time.

Today, I want to introduce an interesting number in Revelation 11, which is three and a half. It is one of the few interesting numbers found in Revelation such as 7, 12, and 666. The number three and a half occurs twice in Revelation 11, first in the duration given for the prophetic ministry of the two witnesses which is 1,260 days, and also the trampling of the outer courts of the temple for 42 months, and both of these durations refer to the same period of time: namely, three and a half years. This is the first use of the number three and a half. The second time the number occurs is the duration of death for the two witnesses after they were killed by the beast to the celebration of all, which is three and a half days. In short, the two witnesses will go through a terrible time for three and a half years, and then they will literally go through hell for three and a half days. That sounds horrible for sure.

But three and a half means half of seven; and seven means fullness because of the seven-day creation story in Genesis 1. So three and a half means halfway in terms of the full duration. It means what had happened so far was not the full story. It is not game over yet. The significance of three and a half, whether it was three and a half years, or three and a half days, was not as an actual timing in terms of duration, but the clear divine signal that there is still time for the comeback. God is telling the seven churches that it is merely half time, and in fact, the second half will be the great reversal.

Here’s where knowing a little more about early church history would really enlighten us. History informs us that there were waves of persecution from multiple Roman emperors for almost three centuries. [5] Some were huge like the one from Nero in the 60s of the first century before the writing of Revelation, [6] others might be less widespread like the one from Domitian which may be during the time of Revelation, but even then there were still executions of Christian martyrs from overly zealous local officials. But in the end, the church survived and eventually revived from a near fatal state. The classic prophetic vision for this would be from Ezekiel 37 where the Spirit of God revived the dead from the valley of dry bones. Liverpool’s comeback in the Champions League final may be called the Miracle of Istanbul, but the Church’s comeback from the waves of persecution was the true miracle. For three and a half metaphorical years the church was fighting a losing battle, and for three and a half metaphorical days, they were assumed to be dead for sure, but guess what, God had a second half planned. And the church not only survived, it flourished to become the picture it is today.

In the second half of Revelation 11, the vision of the seventh trumpet in verses 13-19 will be a grand finale of the entire world becoming the kingdom of God. Although we know that God has always been and always will be sovereign over everything, it does not always feel that way. So, we continue to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. But one day, God’s kingship in both heaven and earth will be indistinguishable. One of the key signs of this fulfillment is in the thanksgiving. The doxology expressed in verse 17 “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was.” The “is to come” is no longer needed because the future is now the present. It is also the time for final judgment, and all shall acknowledge Jesus as king forever and ever.

When will the seventh trumpet happen? Using the numerical metaphor, the end will come when we finally reach seven. The purpose of three and a half is not for us to speculate if we are at three or four or six in the timeline to seven [7], but to remind us that there is a role for us to play since we know that even when it is at the absolute worst at three and a half, it is not the end; and we will eventually reach the finale in 7, a victory that is confirmed by God at the very end. Our role before we reach 7 is the role of prophets. Prophecy does not mean making predictions; ''to prophesy" means "to speak and act for God." In the vision of the three and a half years, there will be Christians, represented by the inner court of the temple who will be protected, but there will be those who are sent out to the world, represented by the outer court who will still experience trampling. The sent Christians are next represented by the two witnesses, also known as the two olive trees and the two lampstands. These are references from Zechariah 4:12-14.

Initially most scholars thought that the two olive trees refer to Zerubbabel the Jewish governor and Joshua the high priest, since these two are the officially anointed ones. But the phrase for “anointed” can also be translated as “those who provide oil” or more literally “sons of oil”, so I prefer a newer interpretation where the two olive trees are the prophets Zechariah and Haggai, [8] who are like olive trees giving oil to the lamps so that they can continue to shine brighter. When we last spoke on Zechariah in 2018 and Haggai in 2020 [9], we shared that those who returned from the exile to rebuild the temple and the walls of Jerusalem were very disheartened by all the setbacks. But in Zechariah to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4: 6 “This is the word of the Lord : ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. It was the two prophets Zechariah and Haggai who encouraged God’s people with the words of God, and eventually the rebuilding was completed.

Brothers and sisters, we may not all be filled the gift of prophecy, but I would like to think that most of us have at least a little of it. As Moses said in Numbers 11: 29 “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Indeed that is God’s vision in Joel 2: 28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. God’s ultimate vision is for prophecy to come from all of God’s people, young and old, men and women.

Revelation may sometimes come across as a gloomy book of suffering. The Greek word for witness is martyr, and it may seem like being a prophet means to die. But I like what this preacher shared, “I never know how to end a sermon on a martyr’s day. I look out at those good, ordinary people—one of whom, I know, spends eight hours a day sitting with her homebound mother, another of whom drives his wife to another county for radiation therapy five days a week. What should I say to them? ‘God wants more of you! We must all find something worth dying for!’ I cannot say that. The best I can manage is, ‘May we all find that which is worth living for, giving ourselves to it with heart, body and mind, and refusing, under any circumstances, to be parted from it.’” [10]

Brothers and sisters, we can all be prophets. It is not about dying for the sake of it, but knowing what is worth living for courageously. You have been given the vision of three and a half, and you also know the vision of the seventh trumpet, and that gives you the calling of a prophet to encourage those who are down. When I said prophecy is not about making predictions, well, that’s not entirely true. We are called to boldly predict the final victory of Jesus Christ. John described the two witnesses with mouths like flamethrowers, and power like that of Elijah and Moses. These are just metaphorical ways of describing how we are God’s vessels to do divine wonders in people’s lives.

Another author puts it this way, “We are a community that sees the world differently from the way others see it. Where others see brokenness, we see wholeness. Where others see death, we see life. Where others see hatred, we see love. Where others see a world in rebellion, we see a world transformed. Even when the events around us seem to argue against any belief that God will triumph, we keep singing our victory songs, confident that the love and mercy of God will ultimately bring healing to a fractured creation. The power of such a vision is its ability to create hope, to overcome despair, and to transform lives.” [11]

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_UEFA_Champions_League_final
[2]https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/025d-0f782b45c942-3e20b8c30dfa-1000--miracle-of-istanbul-2005-champions-league-final-in-the-words/
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veni,_vidi,_vici
[4]https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/why-we-love-underdogs and https://www.vox.com/2015/3/20/8260445/underdogs-psychology
[5]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire
[6]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire#Neronian_persecution
[7]But where are we now? I guess it depends now how you decide to interpret the almost two thousand years of church history. I would argue that metaphorically speaking we should be between three and a half and seven, because the church had survived and resurrected from the worst persecution under Rome in the first three hundred years which can be symbolized by the three and a half years plus three and a half days. But we should also acknowledge that there are many throughout church history who see themselves as within the first three and a half because of the intense persecution they were suffering. For those who are facing the death threats to their ministry, the worst is yet to come.
[8]Boda, M. J. (2004). Haggai, Zechariah. Zondervan. pg. 275 See also Petterson, A. R. (2015). Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. InterVarsity Press. pg. 155-156
[9]https://www.jubilee.org.sg/sermons/?series=63
[10]Barbara Brown Taylor, “Faith Matters: The Great Tribulation,” The Christian Century 115/22 (12-19 August 1998): 758.
[11]Reddish, M. G. (2001). Revelation. Smyth & Helwys.

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