Read with Me
Revelation 11:1-2 (NET)
Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told, “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months.
Lisen with Me
This measuring of the temple and its courtyards are again very reminiscent of Ezekiel 40-42, where Ezekiel is instructed to measure the perfected and purified temple prior to God’s glory reentering it in chapter 43. Many features from this new temple shown to Ezekiel in chapters 40-48 also appear in the New Jerusalem vision given to John in Revelation 21-22, showing a vital link between these two apocalyptic books and the consistency in God’s plans presented nearly 700 years apart.
Measuring an area symbolizes setting that area apart for God’s use, which is reasonable for the temple, and even for God’s Holy City. One key difference between the vision given to Ezekiel and that shown to John was that Ezekiel’s measurements included the outer courts, but John’s did not. This is because the outer courts of the temple, the “fringes” of the areas that were set apart and purified for his God’s people, would be invaded by the “nations” (the generally understood meaning of the word typically translated as “Gentiles”) for a considerable length of time before God’s influence pushed out and reclaimed that those fringe areas.
The length of this trampling is stated as forty-two months, or precisely three and one-half years. This is exactly the same length of time that God’s two witnesses are empowered to prophecy, although in verse 3 it is stated as 1260 days.
A clear line is drawn in these two verses between God’s kingdom, symbolized by the temple and those worshiping in it (verse 1), and the kingdom of the world, symbolized by those outside the temple. The outer courts of the temple are the “fringe area”, analogous to the court of the Gentiles in the second temple, the place where seekers could come and seek the one true God. But the persecution that will still last for a considerable time will close off that opportunity as the outer courts are trampled by those non-believers, driving the Church into hiding inside the temple proper. So, even though those persecuting the Church will believe that they are winning in their fight to suppress the Church, and ultimately to stamp it out entirely, they are really cutting themselves off from the only source of salvation.
Pray with Me
Father, this is a rhythm that has played out repeatedly across history and around the world. As tyrants persecute Your people, forcing them underground, deep into the recesses of Your “temple”, and as they trample that fringe area, trying to replace the Church by doing the things that the Church has been uniquely empowered to do, they only succeed in cutting themselves off from the things that can save them, drawing even greater judgment down on themselves. And I can see that same dynamic at work in some areas of my own country right now. Lord, help me, help all of us, to bear powerful witness to Your love and Your grace as long as we can, so that “by all possible means” we might save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-22), before it is too late. Amen.