In John’s vision, the sixth trumpet judgment has sounded but the seventh and final trumpet judgment has not yet begun. We just saw an amazing scene in Revelation 10 in which a strong gigantic angel placed his feet on the land and the sea of the earth and gave John an open book. It held harrowing news for the nations of the world. Now we are going to continue with another interlude, or parenthetical insert, which will give us some extraordinary information about the future…
Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Revelation 11:1
Is there a temple now that even could be measured in Jerusalem? No, not right now. Has this event happened yet? No, not yet. We know from other parts of the Bible, and we know it from Revelation, that God’s temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem one day. It will be a real one because it’s going to be able to be measured.
Not only will the temple of God be measured, but also its altar and those who worship in it. That means there will be sacrifices offered once again in the temple. The Jews will once again worship their God in His holy temple in Jerusalem.
This is incredibly important. The temple mount area is the most sought after and fought over piece of land in the world. The Palestinians want to see Jerusalem divided and claim East Jerusalem as their capital. The world is highly ignorant of God’s claim on His creation and His choice of Jerusalem as His holy hill. God has given Israel its own land, of which Jerusalem is the crown jewel. Someday soon, the crisis will come to a head. Israel will rebuild God’s temple (most probably through the help of the anti-christ before he is revealed to be such).
Once the anti-christ is revealed he will lead the nations of the world against God’s people and Jerusalem. Right before Messiah brings their evil to an end, all the nations will gather at the valley of Armageddon in order to march against Jerusalem. They will march and she will almost be destroyed… almost… but Messiah will save her. And then, when the world sees Who God is and that He loves His people, they will finally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, indeed, as the capital of the entire world—because the King will reign from His throne on His holy hill as planned for all time…
Back to our passage…
Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.” Revelation 11:2
John is given a measuring rod that was something like a staff. Someone told him to get up and measure the temple of God, the altar, and the worshipers, but he was also told not to include any measurements for the court, which was outside the temple. He is given the reason for not measuring the court—it has been given to the nations and they were going to trample it (and the holy city) for forty-two months. (See Luke 21:24 for an interesting cross-reference.)
Take note of that time phrase—forty-two months. We will see it again…
For a better understanding of the temple structure, please refer to Event 9 in HIStory: From Event To Event The Bible Is One Story—HIS Story! where you will find a Point of Depth explaining the tabernacle.
For now let me share just a little bit of information about the temple. In the center of the structure was the tabernacle—the front two-thirds was the holy place and the rear one-third was the holy of holies. There was a court that went around the entire tabernacle. There was a temple building which was grandiose and courts attached to it, but it is the outer court that John was not allowed to measure. Nations will be allowed to trample the outer court for 42 months (3 1/2 years).
Actually, the nations are already trampling the court in the sense that the world will not let the Jews build their temple and worship their God as He commanded. But their trampling will get much, much worse in the last days… those days will be a time that cannot even be compared to anything that has ever happened… ever…
