Revelation-Part 24

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MEASUREMENT OF THE TEMPLE AND ITS WORSHIPERS

John’s first directive as part of his renewed commission to prophesy (see Rev. 10:11) is to measure the temple and its worshipers and to refrain from measuring anything outside the temple (Rev. 11:1-2). A description of two witnesses prophesying in Jerusalem (11:3- 13) follows that instruction. Both activities occur in Jerusalem, with a simple “and” at the beginning of 11:3 tying the two together. That indicates a close relationship between these two parts of Revelation 11. A closer look at each will show how they relate.

The Measurement Itself (11:1-2)

John’s first duty after his recommissioning is to gain information regarding the temple and the city in which it stands. He receives a reed for the purpose of measuring, similar to Ezekiel who apparently used a reed nine feet in length for the purpose of obtaining dimen­sions (cf. Ezek. 42:16-19). The strong angel who dealt with John in 10:9-11 is the probable source of the reed given to John and also the probable spokesman who gives the instruc­tions, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it. And cast out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city forty-two months” (11:1b-2). Since no measurements result from John’s activity, the purpose of the measuring must be to glean information of another type, the information that he passes on to his readers in verses 3-13. We will discuss that information shortly.

Before we do, however, we need to pay closer attention to the measuring activity. Considerable debate has surrounded the nature of John’s commission. One line of thought proposes that the temple in view is a figurative reference to the church. That suggestion is not plausible, however, because the church is composed largely of Gentiles, but the temple in Jerusalem is Jewish. Besides this, verse 2 says the outer court and the entire city will experience trampling by the Gentiles, indicating that the temple and the court stand for something that best contrasts with what is Jewish. The most obvious flaw in choosing a symbolic interpretation of the temple is the fact that the worshipers are measured along with the sanctuary and the altar. If the worshipers are people, it is very plain that the temple is not a symbolic way of referring to people, because the charge to the prophet plainly distinguishes between the temple and the worshipers.

The only way out of a hopeless tangle of symbolic contradictions is to understand the temple to be a future temple structure that will be rebuilt in Jerusalem on the site of the temple that was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Jesus anticipated an abomination of desolation involving a future temple (Matt. 24:15). Paul anticipated a future temple (2 Thess. 2:4). He prophesied about the future repentance and salvation of Israel (Rom. 11:26). A re-institution of Israel’s national life will of necessity entail a rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. In his prophetic vision John saw this future temple and had the re­sponsibility of gleaning certain information about the future state of it and the city in which it stood. The altar he was to measure was the brazen altar of sacrifice in the court outside the sanctuary, the place where the people gathered. The worshipers in John’s vision are a future godly remnant of Israelites who will worship God in the rebuilt temple.

The angel forbad John to measure the outer court (Rev. 11:2). The Gentiles could enter the outer court, but not the inner part of the temple. The measurement of the temple, the altar, and the worshipers marked God’s favor upon those parts, but the non-measure­ment of the outer court marked an exclusion from God’s favor. The outer court and the rest of the holy city Jerusalem will fall into Gentile hands for forty-two months, allowing Gentile control over and defilement of the holy city for forty-two months. They will manifest their rebellion against God by oppressing the Jewish remnant and will wreak havoc in Jerusalem during the period just before Christ’s return. The forty-two months correspond to three and one-half years, the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan. 9:24-27).

The Results of the Measurement (11:3-13)

In Revelation 11:3-13 John, as a part of his renewed prophetic activity, shares the information gleaned through his measurement. The prophecy centers about God’s two witnesses who “will prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days [i.e., three and one-half years] clothed in sackcloth” (11:3b). Students of Scripture have proposed various ways to identify the two witnesses. The text does not give their names, but the most prob­able identification sees them as two Old Testament characters, Moses and Elijah. The signs performed by the two (11:5-6) closely resemble those performed by the two in Israel’s earlier history, Elijah calling down fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10) and shutting off rain from heaven (1 Kings 17:1) and Moses turning water into blood and striking the earth with plagues (Exod. 7:14–11:10). In John’s prophecy fire comes from the mouth of the two witnesses to consume their enemies. They shut the heavens and stop the rain. They turn water to blood and strike the earth with every plague. In the future fulfillment of this vision, the two men will have miraculous power to keep them alive and protect them from their Gentile oppressors, until they have finished the job God gives them to do.

John’s prophecy does not divulge the subject about which the two witnesses prophesy, but most probably their witness will resemble that of the rest of the woman’s seed in Rev­elation 12:17: they will have the testimony of Jesus, i.e., the testimony which Jesus had, the truth that He taught. They will condemn the unrighteousness and the God-dishonoring behavior of their generation, including that of “the beast who ascends from the abyss” (11:7). The fulfillment of the beast in John’s prophecy will be the false Christ who will rule the world just before Jesus returns to defeat him at Armageddon (Rev. 16:16; 19:19-21). When the two witnesses have finished their three-and-a-half-year ministry, the beast will do battle with them, overcome them, and kill them (11:7). Their corpses will be on display in Jerusalem for three and a half days (11:8-9). Their deaths will be cause for great celebra­tion among people who are living in rebellion against God (11:10).

Then God will raise them from the dead, a feat that will induce great fear among Jerusalem’s inhabitants (11:11). Then He will summon the two to heaven, allowing their enemies to witness their ascension (11:12). Next will come to the city a great earthquake that will kill seven thousand of Jerusalem’s citizens (11:13a). Those who live through the earthquake will, as a result of what they have experienced, repent of their rebellion, and a great revival will come to the city: “the rest became afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven” (11:13b).

John, through measuring the temple, the altar, and the city and through the vision given him, learned what life will be like in Jerusalem during this final period before the second advent of Christ. The beast will keep tight control over the city’s affairs and will oppose every effort to turn people to worship God. In spite of his efforts, however, some true worshipers will remain for a time, especially the two witnesses who will have supernatural power to protect themselves. When the two finish the work God has laid out for them, the beast will have them killed and will display their bodies publicly for three and a half days before God raises them from the dead and brings them to heaven in the sight of all. That spectacle plus an earthquake that will kill seven thousand people in the city will bring a widespread turning to God among those who survive the earthquake. That repentance among the Israelites will set the stage for Christ’s return to earth.

With the dragon and the beast in control of the world in those days, believers in Christ will face turbulent times. Especially will that be true in Jerusalem and especially will it be the lot of the two witnesses. But even in that situation God is ultimately in control to allow the two to finish their testimony (11:7a). Divine decree will fix the duration of their ministry; nothing can alter that. Every Christian today has a duty to perform for the Lord; that is why He has put us here on earth. Like the two witnesses, He will keep each of us alive until our jobs are done. Then and only then will we leave this life. That fact should give us courage to represent Christ boldly to a world in great need of His salvation.

Note: For more details about John’s description of Jerusalem in the Great Tribu­lation, see my discussion in Revelation 8–22 (Moody Press, 1995), pages 78-99. To order this volume, you may contact Grace Books International at (800) GRACE15 or www.gbibooks.com.

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