Old Testament Reading: Zechariah 4

“And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ I said, ‘I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ And I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. ‘These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.’ Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?’ He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth’” (Zechariah 4, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:3-14

“‘And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come” (Revelation 11:3–14, ESV).

Introduction

Let us remember where we are in the book of Revelation. We are still considering the second of two interludes found in this book.

The first interlude is in Revelation chapter 7. There we experienced a break in the action as the seal cycle was interrupted by the vision of the sealing of the 144,000 and also the vision of a great multi-ethnic multitude worshiping God in heaven. These visions are inserted between the opening of the sixth and sevenths seals.

The function of the first interlude is clear.  The visions introduced by the breaking of each of the seals have primarily to do with the judgements of God poured out upon the earth. The question left hanging is, “what about God’s people? Will they succumb to God’s wrath? Will they be caught up in and swept away by God’s partial and perpetual judgments as he pours them out upon the earth?”  The interlude of chapter 7 answers that question by focusing in upon the church and portraying them, first of all, as a holy people numbered for battle and sealed by God, and then as a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” worshipping (Revelation 7:9, ESV). The seal cycle depicts the judgments of God poured out. The interlude of chapter 7 depicts the people of God protected, preserved on earth, and then brought safely home.

The second interlude is found inserted in between the  sixth and seventh trumpets. In chapter 10 John is recommissioned as a prophet and in chapter 11 we encounter a vision that mirrors the vision of chapter 7. The chapters are not identical – they each have a slightly different message to communicate – but they are very similar.

If we were to set them side by side we would see that both the interlude of chapter 7 and the interlude of chapter 11 focus in upon the church. Both answer the question, what about the people of God? Will they be caught up in the judgments of God poured out upon the earth (as portrayed in the breaking of the seals) and upon the wicked (as portrayed in the sounding of the trumpets)? The answer in both interludes is essentially the same: Though God’s people will indeed suffer tribulation as they sojourn in this world, God will preserve them in the midst of it and will bring them safely home.

In the interlude of chapter 7 the people of God are sealed while on earth – possessed and preserved by him – and then seen worshipping comfortably and securely, having been brought safely to their heavenly home.

In the interlude of chapter 11the people of God are measured. They worship at the heavenly temple that is at once perfectly secure and yet vulnerable as those who worship there sojourn upon the earth in this age where “the court outside the temple… [is left unmeasured and is] given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2, ESV).  Those who worship God through faith in Christ worship at the heavenly temple and are measured by God, possessed and preserved by him. They will suffer tribulation in the world, no doubt, but by the end of this glorious vision those faithful to Christ are seen to be vindicated and brought safely home.

So, both the seal cycle and the trumpet cycle depict God’s judgments, and both interludes – the one in chapter 7 and the one in chapter 11 – depict the preservation of God’s people in the midst of tribulation.

There are three points that need to be drawn from the text that we are considering today. I will state all three, but then we will return to consider only point one in detail; points two and three we will return to next week.

First of all, we must recognize that the job of the church, as we live in this present evil age, is to witness. We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, his life, death and resurrection.We are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning the good news that in Christ, through faith in him, there is found the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. And we are to witness, or testify to the world, concerning Christ, that he will indeed return, this time not to accomplish salvation, but to rescue those who belong to him and to judge those who do not from amongst the living and the dead. The job of the church is to witness.

Secondly, see that the church ought to expect unrelenting, and ever increasing opposition from the unbelieving world. The world – those not given to the Son by the Father – will hate the testimony that they hear from the Christian witnesses. It will be an irritant to them, and they will respond with varying degrees of hostility. That is, unless the Holy Spirit is at work within them, drawing them to repentance. The church ought to expect opposition as she witnesses.

Thirdly, recognize that though the church on earth be trampled even to the point of death, she will in the end be preserved, rescued and vindicated, and the wicked judged.

This is the message communicated in this wonderful passage. Let us consider the first point more closely today.

The Job Of The Church Is To Witness

Brothers and sisters, consider that the job of the church is to witness concerning Christ.

Revelation 11:3 says, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3, ESV).

Notice a few things about this verse:

First of all, notice that this declaration is being made by God and that it is closely connected to what has just been said concerning the measuring of the temple, the alter and those who worship there, and the leaving of the courtyard exposed to the trampling of the nations. Verse 3 goes with verses 1 and 2 – that is my point.

The question that we might ask after we have considered verses 1 and 2 is, why would God leave the temple courtyard and the holy city, which symbolizes the Christ bride, his church, as she lives in this in this world, exposed? The answer is, so that the church would witness to the world concerning Christ.The close connection between verses 1 and 2 and verse 3 makes it clear.

Jesus said to his disciples before his ascension, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).

A witness is one who testifies in legal matters. A witness provides evidence. A witness says, “this is what I saw.” The Apostles of Christ were able to witness concerning Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection because they saw it.

Listen to how the Apostle John begins his epistle, 1 John. He says,

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify [μαρτυρέω, the verb form of the noun μάρτυς found in Acts 1:8 and Revelation 11:3] to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1–3, ESV)

John is saying that as an Apostle of Christ – as an eyewitness to his life, death, and resurrection – he is able to witness or give testimony concerning Christ. You and I as Christians today are witnesses to Christ only so long as we are faithful to say what the Apostles, who were eyewitnesses, have said. The church witnesses concerning Christ only so long as she is faithful to build upon the foundational witness of the Apostles and prophets, Christ being the cornerstone.

Secondly, notice that these witness are said to have authority. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses”, the text says. When the church testifies she does so with authority. She has authority, not because it resides within her automatically, but only so long as she testifies to the truth.

Thirdly, notice that there are two witnesses. “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth”, the text says.

The hyper-literalistic, futuristic, dispensationalist, being driven by their erroneous presuppositions and their faulty method of interpretation, believes that this verse will be fulfilled in the future when two individuals will appear to witness for a literal three and a half years immediately preceding the end of time.

According to the futuristic interpretation it will be these two, and these two only, who will experience all that is said in the passage concerning them. These two individuals will in the future serve as witnesses. These two will be persecuted. These two will be instruments of judgment. These two will be killed. And these two will be raised to life and caught up into heaven.

By the way, what do those who hold to this position say when asked, how will it be that when these two witnesses, who you say are literately two individuals, are killed, their corpses left in the street for three and a half days, as verse 9 describes to us, that people all over the world will rejoice as they gaze upon their dead bodies? What is the popular answer to that question today? It is the one made popular by Tim LaHaye, the author of the, more-fictional-than-you-know, Left Behind Series. His view is that people the world over will see these two witnesses slain on television.

I bring this up only to highlight just how much the futurist interpretation divorces the book of Revelation from it’s original context, making much of the book to be all but meaningless to it’s original recipients, not to mention all who lived prior to the days of television or the invention of modern weaponry, etc.

In other words, if the futurists are correct then all who read this text prior to the 1920’s would have been utterly puzzled, thinking to themselves, “how could it be that the ‘peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and… those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:9–10, ESV).

It is far better to see that these two witnesses represent the church as she fulfills her role as witness.

The reasons for understanding the text in this way are numerous. I’ll briefly mention a few.

One, we should understand the two witness to symbolize the church because of the length of time that they are said to minister, namely 1,260 days.

I mentioned last week that this same period of time reappears in the book of Revelation over and over again, but stated in different terms. The time span is three and a half years.  It is referred to as 42 months (which is 12 months times 3.5 years) in 11:2 and also in 13:5-7. In both of these passages the emphasis is upon the people of God being trampled or assaulted. The same time period is referred to as 1,260 days here in 11:3 and also in 12:14-17 (1,260 days is 3.5 years times 360 days, which his is one year according to the calendar in use when Revelation was written – 360 days times 3.5 years equals 1,260 days). The emphasis in both of these texts is the protection of the church in the face of her advisories. Also, the language from Daniel 7 of a “time, times, and a half of time”, or three and one half years, is found in Revelation 12:7.

In each instance the time designation, be it 42 months, 1,260 days, or a time, times, and half a time, stands for the church age when the people of God will be both protected and preserved spiritually by God while being pursued and persecuted by the enemies of God.

This is what the period of time of three and a half years came to sand for. It symbolizes trouble for the people of God, particularly the temple of God. The number is rooted in Daniel 7, but it finds its significance historically in the three and a half year assault of the people of God and the temple of God at the hands of Antiochus Epiphanes from 167 to 164 B.C. – he attacked for three and a half years.  Even more recent was the Romans siege against Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. That all lasted three and one half years. And we have not mentioned the earthy ministry of Jesus, who was the eternal Son of God who tabernacled with us. His ministry lasted three and a half years. He, the true temple, was assaulted and, in the end, desecrated by lawless men. With all of these things, and more, in the background is it not hard to see that the time frame of three and a half years symbolizes a time of tribulation for the people of God, particularly the temple of God.

And who are the people of God under the New Covenant? The dispensationalists so misinterpret scripture that some of them will even say, “ethnic Jews!”. But the right answer according to New Testament is that it is all who have faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike, who are the people of God. They are the true children of Abraham, not according to their fleshly birth, but according to the their new birth in the Spirit.

And where is the temple. It is “neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21) “for we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV).

This period of time refers, then, not to a literal 1,260 days or a literal 42 months, but to the time between the first and second coming of Christ – a time marked by tribulation for the people of God as they sojourn on earth. A time marked by tribulation for the temple of God, namely the body of Christ, the church. This becomes especially clear in Revelation chapter 12, I think.

So if it is true that 42 months, or 1,260 days symbolizes the church age – that is, the time between Christ’s first and second comings – and if it is true that this is the time in which these two witnesses minister, then they cannot be two literal persons (unless we believe them to be almost 2,000 years old today), but they must represent something else – some other entity that has existed for the last 2,000 years, will continue to exist until the Lord returns, and has witnessing to the world concerning Christ as it’s mission. What do these two witnesses symbolize? They symbolize the church as she witnesses concerning Christ.

There are many other reasons to think that these two witnesses are not to be taken literally, but as symbolic of the church. I will briefly mention a few more for the sake of time.

Two, Notice that the witnesses are called “two lampstands”. What do lampstands symbolize in the book of Revelation? The church!

Three, these witnesses are said to torment the whole world, the end result being that the whole world sees and rejoices over their death. It is hard to understand, especially from the 90A.D perspective, how two individual people could possibly have such an effect upon all who dwell on the earth from every tongue, tribe, and nation. But it is not hard to understand how this could be of true of the church universal. Indeed her mission was and is to “go and make disciples of all nation”. Indeed, this is the mission that she has and will continue to accomplish. And we know that as she accomplishes her mission she makes some friends – they are called the elect of God – but she makes many enemies as she testifies concerning Christ.

Four, the oppression of the two witnesses in this passage mirrors the assault of the woman and her offspring by the evil one in chapter 12. We will eventially come to this passage. For now consider verse 15 of chapter 12 where the offspring of the woman are identified as being “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony [μαρτυρία] of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17, ESV). It is the church, and not only two individual witnesses, that is oppressed for these 1,260 days.

Five, notice that while the witnesses are clearly plural, they are in this passage also referred to in singular terms. This comes through more in the Greek than in the English, but I find it fascinating and worth mentioning. There are two witnesses, but in verse 5 we read, “And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes” (Revelation 11:5, ESV). “Them” is plural, referring to the two witnesses, but “mouth” is singular. You would expect the number to match. You would expect the text to say, “fire pours from their mouths”. The oddity is meant to grab our attention, I think, to help the reader understand that these two really stand for one thing, the church. The church speaks with one mouth as she testifies concerning Christ. The same thing happens in verses 7-9, but it is hidden behind an unfortunate English translation. the text says, “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:7–8, ESV). In fact, in the Greek the word translated “bodies” is singular. The beast conquers and kills them (plural), and their body (singular) will lie in the street. Again, you would expect the plural (so much so that our English translations feel compelled to provide it), but in the Greek you get the singular, perhaps in order to indicate that the two really stand for one thing, the church as she witnesses.

More reasons could be provided for viewing the two witness, not as referring to two literal persons, but to the whole church as she witnesses to Christ throughout the church age. For the sake of time we must be content with these five.

But why two witnesses? Why not one or seven?

There are many reasons. The main one is this: According to the scriptures if a testimony to be received as trustworthy and true in a court of law, two or more witness are required. The principle is repeated throughout the Bible, but the first mention of it is found in Deuteronomy 19:15, which says,  “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15, ESV).

Notice that these two witnesses have authority. The are said to stand before the “Lord of the earth”. Not only do they witnesses concerning the good news that life is found in Jesus’ name, but also concerning the guilt of sin.

These witnesses are two in number because they are like Moses and Elijah who announced and pronounced judgments upon the idolatrous world in their day.  Verse 5:

“If anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:5–6, ESV).

Clearly this is intended to bring to mind the ministry of Moses and the prophet Elijah.

Elijah shut the sky so that not rain would fall in 1 Kings 17. It was through the ministry of Elijah that fire came down from heaven to consume the idolatrous in 2 Kings 1. Similarly, here the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet:  “Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: ‘Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them” (Jeremiah 5:14, ESV). The church is to witness or testify concerning Christ and concerning sin just as the prophets did. The church is to call men and women to repentance. The church is to warn of judgment and to hold forth Christ. This was the ministry go Elijah and the prophets, and it is our top.

And the church is like Moses. These witnesses are said to “have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Revelation 11:6, ESV). Certainly this is to remind us of Moses and the plagues which led to the Exodus of Israel.

The church is to testify to the world concerning the the glory of God and of Christ. She is to preach Christ from the law and the prophets.

These witnesses are also two in number because they are the two “olive trees” of Zechariah 4. Clearly this is a reference to the Zechariah 4 passage that I read at the beginning of the sermon. There Zechariah saw a vision of “a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”

A careful consideration of that text reveals that the two olive trees symbolize the Lord’s anointed ones (probably Zerubbabel, the governor, who was descended from David, and Joshua, the high priest). These have the task of rebuilding the temple of God. The promise is that these anointed one will be fully empowered by the Spirit of God to accomplish the task. The lamps will, through them, have a never ending supply of oil. The meaning of the passage is this: the temple will be rebuilt because God will supply for their every need. It will be accomplished, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6, ESV).

What is the meaning here in Revelation 11? The church will have all that she needs to fulfill her witnessing task. As she fulfills it, the temple of God will be built up stone upon stone until the Lord return.

There may be others reasons for the witnesses being two in number, but these are central. Two witness are required to establish a case. The two witnesses correspond to and carry on the ministry of Moses and Elijah and she preached Christ from the law and prophets. And just as the Lord promised Israel that he would, by the power of the Spirit, provide for the rebuilding of the Old Covenant temple through his two olive trees, so too will he provide for the building up of the New Covenant temple, the church, through the outpouring of his Spirit.

Conclusion

How is your witness?

Witnessing involves more than the proclamation of the gospel.

It involves holy living.

At home as you witness to those in your household.

In the community as you interact with Christians and non-Christians.

In the church.

It involves living a life marked by love for God, dependence upon him, and thankfulness to him.

We witness as we gather for corporate worship.

We gather on the Lord’s Day to give glory to God. People take notice of this.

We must completely shed that old superficial American evangelical thought that we go to church on Sunday when it is convenient for us and when we feel like it as if it were mainly about us.

Friends, we are to gather together on the Lord’s Day, which is the Christian Sabbath, in obedience to the fourth commandment, to give worship to God. Is that not what happened at the temple? Why did the people gather there? To be encouraged primarily? No, they came to worship. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Indeed we are encouraged when we come to worship. Indeed that is one of our objective: the building up of the body of Christ, the encouragement of the Christian. But it falls under the prime objective of giving gory to God.

When you gather for worship you are testifying to all that God is worthy of our worship and that we must come to him through Jesus the Christ. To neglect it is to communicate to all who see that God is unworthy and that Christ is of little significance.

We witness by maintaining unity with one another.

Repent and extend forgiveness.

Labor to maintain unity.

“I therefore… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3, ESV)

Witnessing does not happen unless the gospel is proclaimed.

We must testify from the scriptures concerning sin.

We must testify from the scriptures concerning Christ – his life, death, and resurrection.

Having testified we must call men and women to faith and repentance, and to baptism within Christ’s church.

How is your witness?

How is our witness?

 

 

New Testament Reading: Hebrews 9:1–15; 23–28

“Now even the first covenant [that is, the Old Covenant] had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant… [Hebrews 9:23] Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:1–15; 23–28, ESV).

Sermon Text: Revelation 11:1-2

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months’” (Revelation 11:1–2, ESV).

Introduction

In the previous sermon that I preached on Revelation 11:1-2 the majority of the time was devoted to proving that it is best to take the word “temple” in verse 1 to be a reference, not to a future rebuilt brick and mortal temple in the earthly city of Jerusalem, but to the heavenly temple and all who worship God the Father there through faith in Jesus the Christ in Spirit and in truth.

To put it differently, the measured temple of Revelation 11:1-2 refers to the church of God, purchased by Christ’s blood, and filled with the Holy Spirit, as she worships, not at the earthly Old Covenant temple of stone, which was a copy of the heavenly realities, but at the heavenly temple itself, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24, ESV).

Remember the case that I made. This interpretation is the one that is in step with the overall message of the book of Revelation. This interpretation is the one that is in step with the way that the Apostles of Christ spoke of the temple – “For we are the temple of the living God”, Paul said (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV). This interpretation is the one that is in step with the way that Christ himself spoke of the temple. The eternal Word of God, the second person of the Trinity  “tabernacled” amongst us in the incarnation. Christ claimed to be the temple. He declared the earthly, Old Covenant,  brick and mortar temple to be desolate. And he promised to send the Spirit to fill, not the earthly temple, but his people after his ascension to the Father. I also demonstrated that this interpretation – the one that takes “temple” in Revelation 11:1 to refer to the church – is in step with all that the Old Testament has to say about the temple. For the earthly tabernacle, which later became the temple, was never about the structure itself, but rather God’s presence dwelling in the midst of his people, whom he had redeemed for himself. The Old Testament prophesies concerning a future temple clearly refer to one that is far superior to the earthy temple of the Old Covenant both in regard to its scope and the purity of the worship offered within (Ezekiel 40-48). When we read the New Testament it becomes clear that these Old Testament prophesies, types, and shadows all pointed to the Christ and to the temple of the new heavens and the new earth, of which Revelation 21:22 says, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV).

When John, in Revelation 11:1, “was given a measuring rod like a staff, and… was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1, ESV), he was to mark off, not a physical and earthly structure, but a heavenly and spiritual one. People were to be measured. It was “those who worship there” at the temple of God and the alter who were to be measured.

“Temple” In The Book Of Revelation

So where is this temple that measured? Let’s look more closely at the book of Revelation today to give a more precise answer to that question.

The Greek word for temple (ναός) appears sixteen times in the book of Revelation. Twelve times it is translated “temple”; four times it is translated “sanctuary” in the English Standard Version (ESV). Let’s look at these verses together.

Turn back to Revelation 3:12. To the Christians in the church at Philadelphia Christ said,  “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Revelation 3:12, ESV). Is this temple physical and earthly? No, it is clearly heavenly and spiritual, for it has Christians as it’s pillars, metaphorically speaking, and not stone.

Now turn to 7:15. Remember that this verse is contained within the interlude that comes between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seals. Also, remember that this verse comes after the sealing of the 144,000 on earth. And remember that this verse is referring to those that John saw in heaven, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9–10, ESV). These are the ones who, in verse 15, are said to be “before the throne of God, [serving] him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence” (Revelation 7:15, ESV). Is this an earthly physical temple?  No, it is a the heavenly temple. It is the “temple” which is in heaven now where God dwells, being surrounded by angels and the souls of the redeemed who worship him day and night. The thing that makes it a “temple” is the presence of God with his people.

The next two occurrences of the word ναός are found in 11:1-2, which is the text we are considering today. We will return to it.

Turn to 11:19. There we read, “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:19, ESV).

Turn to 14:15.  There we read, “And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe’” (Revelation 14:15, ESV). Again, the word temple is used to refer, not to an earthly temple constructed by men out of stone but to the heavenly temple or dwelling place of God.

Turn to 15:5. There John says, “After this I looked, and the sanctuary [ναός] of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests” (Revelation 15:5–6, ESV).

Look at 15:8. There John says, “…and the sanctuary [ναός] was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished” (Revelation 15:8, ESV). This is a another reference to the heavenly sanctuary mentioned in 15:5.

Turn to 16:1. There John says, “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God’” (Revelation 16:1, ESV). Again, this is the heavenly temple. It is the place where God dwells, where he is worshipped and served, and from whence his judgments flow.

Finally, we come to Revelation 21:22, in which John describes the new heavens and the news earth, saying, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). It will be then, on that last day, that heaven and earth become one. It will be there in the new heavens and the new earth that the presence of God will be enjoyed by his people in a most immediate way. It will be in this place and at this time that all of the promises of God will be fulfilled in a most full and consummate way. There will be no physical temple made of stone on the earth in that day for all of creation will be God’s “temple”. His glory will fill all. His people will walk with him and enjoy his presence. This is the thing that Adam tasted of in the garden but forfeited. In the end God will bring it to pass, not through the obedience of the first Adam, but through the obedience of Jesus the Christ, whom Paul refers to as the second Adam. What has he done for us? He has made it possible for us to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

So we’ve examined every usage of the word ναός (temple or sanctuary) in the book of Revelation. Not once is the word used to describe a future, physical, earthly, brick and mortar temple. Most often the word is used to refer to the temple of God as it is in heaven now – the temple that John was, time and again, given a glimpse of in the heavenly visions shown to him. Sometimes the word is used in reference to the “temple” of the new heavens and earth, which is not made of stone, but includes the whole of the new heavens and earth, for the glory of God will fill all.

Remember Christ’s promise to the saints in Philadelphia: “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” In other words Christ says, “stay true to me till the end and you will enjoy a permanent place within my temple, that is, the heavenly one as it is now, and the temple of the new creation, which will come to be at the consummation. Does the hyper-literalist take this to mean that as faithful saints we will be transformed into stone and become literal pillars in God’s temple? They do not. Even they would have to admit that this is symbolic language which speaks of spiritual realities. Even they would admit that when Christ promises that the faithful will be pilers, he speaks metaphorically and means that they Christian will enjoy God’s presence an comfort forever and ever. But they are woefully inconsistent in their handling of this book.

We should not overlook the fact that word “temple” is actually used one time in the book of Revelation to refer to a literal temple of stone, built by man, which occupies a small piece of real-estate within God’s creation – a temple like the one that stood in Jesus’ day, the foundation of which remains in Jerusalem today. And that occurrence is found in Revelation 21:22 where John says, “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22, ESV). So the only time the word “temple” is used to refer to a temple of stone built by man,  John uses it to say, “I looked for one, but I did not see it.”

The Temple Measured

Having now considered the way that the word “temple” or “sanctuary” is consistently used in the book of Revelation it is not hard to understand the meaning of 11:1 where John “was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” (Revelation 11:1, ESV).” By the way, we could have done the same thing with the word “alter” as we did with the word “temple”, demonstrating that this not a physical and earthly alter, but the heavenly one that has been mentioned numerous times in the book of Revelation thus far (Revelation 6:9; 8:3; 8:5; 9:13;14:18; 16:7).

John’s task was to measure the heavenly temple, the heavenly alter, and all who worship there.

And who are those who worship there?

The elect angels worship there. Revelation 7:11 says, “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen’” (Revelation 7:11–12, ESV).

Those who have been killed for their faith in Christ worship there. “When [Christ] opened the fifth seal, [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” (Revelation 6:9–10, ESV).

Those who have faith in Christ who have died and gone to glory worship there. Remember that John “looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10, ESV)

And it is those who have faith in Christ living on earth worship there. “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne…” (Revelation 8:3, ESV).

These are the ones who have been measured. John measured the heavenly temple, the alter and those who worship there – the elect angels, the saints gone to glory, and those in Christ who dwell upon the earth.

And what does it mean to be measured?

Clearly to be measured is to be protected.

The only other time something is measured in the book of Revelation is in chapter 21 which describes the measuring of the perfect and pure new Jerusalem. John, being “carried… away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain… [saw] coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:10–11, ESV). The city is described as being perfectly cubed,12,000 stadia (which is 1,380 miles) in length, height, and width. It’s walls are 144 cubits (or 216 feet) high. It is of this city that John said,

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22–27, ESV)

The measuring of the city in Revelation 21 signifies, among there things, it’s security. This it is will be perfectly secure. “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

This is also the meaning of the measuring of the temple and those who worship there in Revelation 11. The heavenly temple is secure. Those who worship there are protected and preserved spiritually. That is true of those who are there now – the elect angels, and the elect saints who have gone to glory – and it is true of those in Christ who are still sojourning on earth.

You and I, brothers and sisters (please don’t miss this) worship now at the heavenly temple.

“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’ But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:18–24, ESV).

You and I, brothers and sisters, have been measured by God. God’s promise to us is that he will preserve and protect us to bring us safely home. Christ said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28–29, ESV).

The Temple Court And The Holy City Left Unmeasured

But it is important to notice that, not only was John commanded to measure, but to leave some things unmeasured.“Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:1–2, ESV).

Without a doubt this reference to the temple court and the holy city being trampled by the nations would have brought to remembrance the recent destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans. That was a cataclysmic event. It’s significance can hardly be exaggerated.

Jesus predicted that event in his earthy ministry, saying, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2, ESV).

The Jewish historian, Josephus, described the event after it happened. Here is the first paragraph of Book 7, Chapter 1 of Josephus’ , The War Of The Jews, also called, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem:

“Now, as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other such work to be done) Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminency… and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. (2) This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison; as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; (3) but for all the rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited. (4) This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.

Some believe that the book of Revelation was written prior to 70 A.D. and that the destruction of the Jewish temple. Many of them believe that the events of 70 A.D. in some ways fulfilled, either in part or in whole, the passage that we are considering today. When they read the words, “do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations”, they think of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans. I do not wish to describe the preterist, or partial-preterist, position today, but to simply say that it seems better to understand the 70 A.D. destruction of the temple to be in the background of this text. Without a doubt this reference to the temple court and the holy city being trampled by the nations would have brought to remembrance the recent destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans.

Whether you believe the book of Revelation was written before or after the destruction of the temple you must admit that Revelation 11:1 is symbolic for the truth of the matter is that everything was leveled by the Romans in 70 A.D. The temple and the alter were not left standing.

Symbolized here, then, is this truth: though God’s true temple be secure (measured) in heaven, and though those who worship there, either from heaven or from the earth, be secure, preserved and protected by the very presence of God in and with them, the church is also vulnerable as she lives in this present evil age.

To put it differently, we have not yet come to enjoy the complete security associated with fulness of the eschatological new creation city and temple of Revelation 21 – the one of which it is said, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:23–27, ESV). That reality – the reality symbolized by everything being measured and declared to be temple – is yet in our future.

The temple of God as she is now must be viewed from these two perspectives: She is secure and yet vulnerable. This theme runs through the book of Revelation. The church is consistently portrayed as suffering yet secure, persecuted yet preserved. She, like Christ, her husband, is given to over to trials and tribulations, even to the point of death, and yet through death she obtains life. Christ said these things to us “that in [him we] may have peace. In the world [we] will have tribulation. But take heart; [Christ has] overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, when we think of God’s temple as it is today we are to think, not of the earthly, manmade, brick and mortar temple, which, under the Old Covenant, was merely a shadow or copy of heavenly realities and greater things yet to come, but instead we are to think of the heavenly temple itself – the place where God dwells in glory – and all who worship there in heaven and on the earth – “You are the temple of the Holy Spirit”.

And when we think of this heavenly temple we are to think of something that is both measured – owned by God, protected and preserved – and yet at the same time unmeasured – vulnerable to the trampling feet of the nations.

42 Months

How long will things go on like this? The text says that “the court outside the temple [will be]… given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months” (Revelation 11:2, ESV).

The hyper-literalistic, futuristic, dispensational, pre-millenarian takes this number to be both literal and in reference to a reality future to us. Their view is that this text describes things that will happen, primarily to ethnic Jews, in either first or second half of a seven year tribulation (forty-two months equals three and a half years).

It is far better, and far more instep with the method of interpretation demanded by the book of Revelation itself, to take the number as symbolic.

The symbolism associated with the time frame of forty two-months (or three and a half years) is beautifully complex. In general it represents a time of tribulation for God’s people. Certainly the prophesy of Daniel 7 stands behind the number forty-two. In verse 25 of Daniel 7 we find a prophesy concerning a period of suffering that would be experienced by the people of God under one who would “speak words against the Most High, and… wear out the saints of the Most High, and… think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25, ESV). The phrase “time, times, and half a time” stands for three and one half years, or forty-two months.

This prophesy of Daniel was initially fulfilled when “Antiochus Epiphanes oppressed Israel and ultimately desecrated the temple from 167 to 164 b.c. It is interesting that 1 Maccabees 1–3, 2 Maccabees 5; and Josephus’ works all describe the oppression as lasting “three years and six months.”

It should also be recognized that Israel wandered in the wilderness after their exile from Egypt, not for forty years as we commonly say, but for forty-two. Two years passed before they were condemned to wander for another forty because of the hardness of their hearts. There experienced a series of forty-two encampment before they entered the promised land.

Also notice that the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that the Romans siege against Jerusalem leading to it’s destruction in 70 A.D. lasted three and one half years, or forty-months.

Therefore, the time frame of forty-two months symbolized a period of suffering and tribulation for the people of God often with an emphasis upon trouble for the temple of God.

Notice that this same period of time is referenced again and again in the book of Revelation, but in different ways (recapitulation).

Look down at Revelation 11:3. There we read, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3, ESV). According to the Jewish calendar one year is 360 days. 360 times three and a half is 1,260. 1,260 days is another way of referring to three and a half years time or forty-two months.

Look at Revelation 12:6. There we are told of a vision of a woman who gave birth to a male child. The male child was caught to heaven, but the woman, being pursued by the dragon “fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days” (Revelation 12:6, ESV), or forty-two months, or three and a half years.

Look at 12:14. There the woman is said to have been “given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14, ESV). The language of Daniel 7:25 is used here. It is a “time, and times, and half a time”, or three and a half years, or forty-months, or 1,260 days.

Finally look at Revelation 13:5-8 where we read,

“And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:5–8, ESV).

The beast is here said to have authority for forty-two months, which is three and a half years, or 1,260 days, or a time, times, and half a time.

Clearly these are all descriptions of the same period of time. As we continue in our study of the book of Revelation it will grow exceedingly clear that these are all different ways of referring, not to a literal three and a half year period of tribulation yet in our future and immediately preceding the end, but to the whole time between Christ’s first and second comings. Perhaps the most obvious place to see this is in the episode of the woman giving birth to a male child, the child being caught up to heaven, and the woman being pursued by the dragon and yet protected for 1,260 days. Clearly this symbolizes the birth of Christ, his death, resurrection, and ascension, and the evil ones war against the church, and God’s preservation of her, not just in the time of the end, but from the birth of Christ in to the end. These numbers all amount to the same thing and they symbolize the church age – the age in which you and I live – an age marked by trials and tribulations, persecutions, suffering, and even death.

Here in Revelation 11:1-2 we are reminded that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that though we be trampled underfoot for these forty-two months, God is ever with us. We are measured and kept secure by his power in the midst of the tribulation.

This very truth is what provoked Peter to exclaim,

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3–7, ESV).

Application

How might we apply these truths, by way of conclusion?

Expected tribulation.

Know that God’s presence is with you. Take comfort in him. Take sanctuary in him.

Remember that one of our primary functions as the church is to offer up worship to God. The 144,000 sealed reminds us that we are protected in the midst of battle. The measuring of the temple reminds us that we are preserved as we worship and serve the one true God in a hostile and idolatrous world.