“Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 “But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.”
Chapter eleven continues the parenthesis between the trumpet judgments six and seven, continued from chapter ten. Since this section of Revelation is a parenthesis, there is no advance in chronology in chapters ten through 11:14. The seventh and last trumpet will sound in verse fifteen.
The theme of chapters ten and eleven focuses on the heralds of Christ’s Second Coming. These chapters present ten angelic heralds, and two human heralds.
11:1
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
John was to take a measuring instrument and measure the temple, altar, and those who worshiped there. This action measured the Holy of Holies (naos) of the Tribulation temple, not the outer courtyard. God is measuring out the things pertaining to the Jews, not the Gentiles. They are in unbelief about the Messiah whom the temple represents. They stubbornly reject the Messiah. The outer courtyard was the court of the Gentiles. God is not interested in measuring the Gentiles at his point.
The “temple” represents Israel’s religion and the people of Israel at the time of the Tribulation. Unbelieving Jews will build the Tribulation Temple, not the Millennial Temple. This has nothing to do with God’s original temple’s true purpose, which is to reveal Jesus Christ and His work. The false prophet will sponsor the Tribulation temple. In addition, the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire will place a gold statue of himself in the Holy of Holies as part of a peace treaty. This statue will not be erected until the alliance is made. This event is the “abomination of desolation” (Da 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Mt 24:15; 2 Th 2:4).
Two dictators worship in this temple: 1) the Gentile political leader of the Revived Roman Empire and head of ecumenical religion during the Tribulation (Re 13:1-9). 2) The false prophet, a Jew, is the dictator of Palestine (Re 13:10f). Jesus has two witnesses, and the devil has his two witnesses.
“Those who worship” are not true believers. True believers ran to the mountains. Although these religious Jews had an altar, it was a meaningless ornament. Much of Christianity, even today, does not understand the meaning of the cross. Symbolism supersedes the finished work of Christ in their minds.
Israel will not truly believe until they “look on Him whom they pierced” (Zech 12:10). That will also be the point of their national salvation (Ro 11:26). Nevertheless, the Father watches over the Jews, even as Hosea watched over his adulterous wife. Even in apostasy, God watches over His people. He marks them off for judgment if they do not repent.
11:2
“But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.
John was not to measure the courtyard (the outer court, the court of the Gentiles). Gentiles were allowed to enter the outer court but not the temple proper. The Gentiles will trample the outer court for forty-two months. God gives John specific instructions not to measure the court outside the temple. This is not a Gentile issue at this point. The emphasis on Jews and Gentiles indicates the church is not present but has been previously raptured.
“And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
The idea of 1,260 days comes from Daniel 7:25, “time, two times, and a half a time.” The 42-month length of the Great Tribulation is literal (Re 11:3; forty-two months of 30 days each). Gentiles will control the temple for this period. The Tribulation will last seven years, but the Great Tribulation will only last for the last half of the Tribulation, the 42-month period. It is the later period to which the book of Revelation gives the most attention. This period will end with the Second Coming of Christ.
The Tribulation divides into two 3 ½ years. The latter 3 ½ years is the Great Tribulation. A world ruler will desecrate the temple at the beginning of the forty-two month (3 ½ years) Great Tribulation and will establish a shrine of idolatry to himself. He will proclaim himself to be God (Da 9:27; 12:11; 2 Th 2:4; Re 13:14-15). The “times of the Gentiles” will end at the Second Coming of Christ (Lu 21:24) to establish His Millennial kingdom.
PRINCIPLE:
Religion blinds people to the truth.
APPLICATION:
The Great Tribulation will be the greatest period of religion the world has ever known. Religion has always been the worst blinder to the truth. Satan will use religion as the basis for his counter-revival.
During the Tribulation, Rome will have a world dictator in charge of a worldwide ecumenical religion.
Praise God for all He is doing. Thanks!
Huh, wow facinating!
Halleluyah to the Lamb.
why is it important for us to know that the temple is measured before the city is given over to be trampled by the Gentiles. What is the relevance of this for us?
ruth, It is best to view the temple in of Revelation 11:3–13 and the parallels in Daniel and Ezekiel as a future, reconstituted temple. The temple John saw and measured is the future Tribulation temple, that is, the third Jewish temple (Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4).
The preterists interpretation (which says that the prophecies were fulfilled by the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70) does not adequately use hermeneutical principles. Also, the background for Revelation 11:1-2 is Daniel 7, 9 and Ezekiel 40-48 making this a future temple.
This prediction is of a glorious future for Israel, which will be fulfilled in the future. The measurement of Israel’s future temple ratifies God’s unconditional promises found in the Old Testament such as the Abrahamic covenant. This temple does not pertain to the church.
does this portion of scripture talks about the rapture??
Brian, the rapture would have occurred before the Tribulation.
sir, if rupture will occur before tribulation who will be the two witnesses if true christians are already caught up ?
John, did you advance to the next study beginning with verse 3. Just click on the verse in the upper right corner to advance. The rapture of the church took place at the beginning of the Tribulation. There will be a number of people who become believers during the Tribulation. See the next study for the 2 witnesses. The purpose of the Tribulation is to bring the nation Israel back to God. It takes tribulation to do this. Christ will come in His Second Coming to set up His kingdom.
Sorry, the rapture occurs at the last trumpet. 1 Corinthians 15:52-“and we shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye at the LAST trump.” Revelation 11:15 “And the the 7th angel sounded. Matthew 24:29,31- “Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days… And He shall send his angels with the sound of a trumpet, and they shall GATHER his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another.” THAT, my friends is the Rapture.
John, there is nothing in Mt 24 about the Rapture. Almost all pre-trib scholars agree on that point.
John, Is this trumpet the same as the one Paul is describing in 1Cornithians 15? While the two descriptions sound similar, they are not the same event. The trumpet of resurreciton and the trumpet judgments are two different events, which happen at different times, though both involve the use of a trumpet. In fact, these are very different trumpets.
How do we know these trumpets are not one Paul was referencing in 1Corinthians 15? Because the historical order of authorship for the New Testament books precludes the possibility that these are the same trumpets. Paul’s first letter to Corinth refers to “the” last trumpet, and his use of the article “the” indicates Paul expected his audience to know and recognize this particular ttrumpet blast. This wasn’t “some” trumpet, it was “THE” the trumpet, so Paul must be refering to a trumpet already known to his readers in the day he wrote 1Corinthians.