‘And there was given to me a reed like a rod with one saying, “Rise, and measure the sanctuary (naos) of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it. And the court which is outside the sanctuary leave out and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations, and they will tread the holy city under foot for forty two months”.
We note that John is told to measure ‘the sanctuary of God'. But no mention is made of him actually seeing a Temple. Nothing physical is described, and no Temple has previously been mentioned except the Temple of which His people are pillars, which is clearly a heavenly Temple.
This can be compared with a similar measuring with a measuring reed of a Temple, which occurs in Ezekiel 40:3 onwards. There a man ‘whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze' measured a heavenly Temple, which was situated on a high mountain away from Jerusalem, and an earthly altar (Ezekiel 43:13) which connected with it. The Temple would be ‘the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet where I will dwell among the children of Israel for ever' (Ezekiel 43:7). The vision and the measurement was an indication that God was there, giving Israel another chance. If they were ‘ashamed of their iniquities' and truly repented they could approach the heavenly Temple through the earthly altar. But ‘no alien, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh shall enter my sanctuary' (Ezekiel 44:9). Only the true people of God would be able to enter there (notice the exclusion of the uncircumcised in heart). This was a Temple only for the pure in heart.
That Temple was intended to be a source of blessing and life to all, bringing life where there was death. From the door of that house would run out ever increasing waters (Ezekiel 47), waters to the ankles, waters to the knees, waters to the loins, and waters to swim in (too deep to stand in). On the banks of this river would grow very many trees, and the waters would continue until they reached the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:8) which would become a place for fish to swim in. Everything will live where the river comes, although a few places will be preserved as of old to yield their salt (Ezekiel 47:11). The trees would be continually fruitful, producing new fruit every month, and their leaves would be for healing (Ezekiel 47:12).
But that Temple was heavenly. It never became a physical reality on earth, except in a smaller Temple which was a shadow of it, for the people never proved worthy. Thus it was transferred to heaven, the heavenly Temple, wherein was the Lamb Who was slain, and in which were offered the prayers of the people of God.
But there was still a Temple on earth for Jesus, speaking in the context of the Temple, spoke of ‘the Temple of His body' (John 2:21). He was revealing that He had come to replace the Temple. In effect to be a new Temple. The purpose of the Temple was to provide a means of access to God through sacrifices and prayer. Jesus revealed that He was the new means of access to God. His offering of Himself replaced the Temple sacrifices, and His intercession for His people replaced the ministry of the priests. He, and those who became His by response to Him, would thus form the new Temple of God on earth (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:22). It was from Him, and from His people that the rivers of living water would flow out to the world (John 7:38). So the prospective Temple in Ezekiel becomes a reality in the living church on earth and in the heavenly Temple above, the latter only proving temporary before being replaced by God Himself (Revelation 21:22).
In Zechariah 2:1 we also have an example of a man, this time with a measuring line in his hand (Ezekiel had both reed and line), who is to measure Jerusalem as a sign of its future prosperity (Zechariah 2:4). So such measuring is a guarantee of the future prosperity of the sanctuary.
The measuring of the sanctuary therefore is a sign of God's care for it and a guarantee of its place in the future purposes of God.
But what sanctuary is this, then, which John has to measure? That it cannot be a literal earthly Temple comes out in that:
1) The Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed as Jesus foretold. No mention has been made anywhere in Revelation of a subsequent literal Temple.
2) This Temple, if it were to be a literal one, could not possibly be the centre of worship for solely true worshippers. Such a Temple would have within it people with a mixture of attitudes of mind and heart, some true some false, which is not the picture being conveyed here. Furthermore it would be run by priests of Israel according to Old Testament practises. Such an idea would be foreign to the principles applied in the letter to the Hebrews. There we are told that Christ has been once offered to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28), so that there can be no more a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:26). No truly spiritual Temple (which is required here) could be raised up.
3) The worshippers in this Temple are clearly true worshippers, the ‘true Israel'. In John's eyes this must signify the church of Christ. The whole idea of the vision is that that which is inside is pure compared with what is outside. It is measured and therefore part of God's proposed purpose.
4) A literal Temple could not realistically be divided in this manner. The Gentile invaders (‘trodden down' signifies invaders) would not stay outside the sanctuary for three and a half years. The myth of the inviolability of the Temple was one that had destroyed Israel twice, it is hardly likely to have been repeated by John. One of the most moving things about the destruction of the Temple in 70AD was the way its defenders believed, even when Jerusalem was taken, that God would not allow the Temple to be desecrated, so that they fought to the last minute awaiting His deliverance. But God did not act and does not so act. Thus the picture is not to be taken literally. Like much in Revelation it is symbolic. Only the church of Christ are promised that their destruction will be prevented by God (‘for the elect's sake those days will be shortened' (Matthew 24:22)).
5) The only Temple known in Revelation is heavenly (Revelation 3:12; Revelation 7:15; Revelation 11:19; Revelation 14:15-17; Revelation 15:5-8; Revelation 16:1; Revelation 16:17). It would be strange therefore if another actual physical Temple were suddenly introduced as being built as a permanent structure on earth.
6) Jesus Himself revealed that the Temple would be replaced by Him as the true Temple (John 2:19).
To what sanctuary then does the angel refer? The New Testament knows of only one Temple of God, the church of Christ. That the church is God's new Temple comes out regularly throughout the New Testament, and it is visualised as one Temple made up of many parts. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:16, ‘We are the Temple (naos) of the living God, even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people”.' And in Ephesians 2:21, in a passage with connections with Revelation 21:14 through the words ‘the foundation of the Apostles', Paul sees that Temple in the process of building, ‘in whom each several building, fitly framed together, grows into a holy Temple (naos) in the Lord, in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit'.
So it is the church as a whole which is the sanctuary of God, and each member of the church is part of that sanctuary. In it they worship together. In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul declares, ‘Do you not know that you are a sanctuary (naos) of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him, for the Temple of God, which you are, is holy'. Thus he can argue, ‘What! Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19). To Christians there was only one sanctuary (naos) of God, His people.
So the fact that the sanctuary (‘naos') is to be measured ties in with this teaching of Paul's, confirming that what is to be measured is God's own true people. This is confirmed by the fact that both the sanctuary ‘and the altar' are mentioned. The altar is mentioned because underneath ‘the altar' are the souls of those who have been martyred for Christ (Revelation 6:9-11). As they are not yet in Heaven they are seen as part of this Temple which is not yet in the heavenly Temple. They are still one with the church on earth, enjoying their ‘rest' before the resurrection. It is significant that both the sanctuary and altar were also measured by Ezekiel. But there were no instructions to build the Temple, only the altar.
This is why in this sanctuary in Revelation there can be no ‘court of the Gentiles', no outer court, for it houses the true Israel of God (see commentary on Revelation 7:4) which is neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:28; Galatians 6:16; Colossians 3:11; 1 Corinthians 10:32; Ephesians 3:6), and all who would be part of it must cease to be part of ‘the nations' (1 Corinthians 10:32). The distinction has been cancelled out in Christ. No outer court is now needed for in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, male nor female (Galatians 3:28). The courts of the Gentiles and of the women are not required.
In the future ‘overcomers' will become pillars in the heavenly Temple (Revelation 3:12), but meanwhile they make up the earthly Temple. The measuring thus indicates their separation to God and their distinctiveness from the world, and gives them assurance that God has prepared then for what is to come.
And like Ezekiel's Temple out of it would flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). This demonstrates that the church on earth represents Ezekiel's Temple, in as far as its building was not seen as fulfilled in the second Temple built by Zerubbabel. The latter Temple did to some extent send out life to the world in the spreading of the Law and the Prophets and the acceptance of proselytes into the faith of Israel, but it was not until the church became God's Temple that rivers of living water flowed out from the Temple to the world in such measure.
Ezekiel's Temple was a heavenly ‘ideal' Temple, which came down on the mountain well away from Jerusalem as God revealed by it that His presence was once more in Israel. It was ‘approachable' through the earthly altar set up in Jerusalem, but the second Temple was only a shadow of it. The latter fulfilled the aim of a new Temple for Israel, but failed to achieve its potential. The church on earth partly fulfils the spiritual consequences of that heavenly Temple and was successful but temporary, for the new Heaven and the new earth will finally fulfil its potential as the dwelling place of God with His people.
This is why John sees the final actualising of that Temple in the new Heaven and the new earth. For the river of lifegiving water, with its healing in the leaves of trees (although in Revelation there is an improvement for it is the tree of life), is located by John in the new Jerusalem of Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:7 which is the bride of Christ. That has become the dwelling place of God, His greater Temple (for no literal Temple will be needed there (Revelation 21:22)). That is where Ezekiel's Temple will finally rest. But meanwhile it is represented on earth by the church, the people of God. In the context of this chapter the church in Jerusalem is foremost in mind, but as a microcosm of the whole church.
We note that this description of the measuring of the Temple and the altar in Revelation 11:1-2 follows immediately the declaration that there will be delay no longer. So we must see in the measurement of it, as with the Temple in Ezekiel, recognition of its acceptability to God as His dwelling place among His people as they face their final hour. Just as Ezekiel saw the heavenly Temple come down to earth, in vision, so does John here, but he is reinterpreting the vision of Ezekiel. In both cases it is to result in something far more than just a Temple, a life-giving stream which produces spiritual healing for the nations (Revelation 22:1-2).
That is why in John's vision only the sanctuary is to be measured, and those who worship in it. This is the true church in Jerusalem. They belong to God as a royal priesthood. They alone are satisfactory to God. The ‘outer court', including the Holy City, is to be handed over to the unrepentant nations. The only part that earthly Israel can have at this stage if they are outside of Christ is with the nations. These are the times of the Gentiles. While the church of Christ prove to be overcomers, the Holy City itself is given to the nations. This clearly stresses that it is the church which God considers to be important in the final days, not any idea of ‘Jerusalem' as a chosen city. That is given to the nations. A new Holy City will come into its own in the new Heaven and the new earth (Revelation 21:2).
‘And the Holy City they (the nations) will tread under foot for forty two months'. Only the sanctuary and altar, the people of God, are preserved by God, the remainder of the Holy City is handed over to the nations. This thought would horrify the soul of any Jew. The treading down of Jerusalem is always a sign that God is no longer dealing with Israel there (Luke 21:24 - and compare how in Ezekiel God deserts the Temple prior to its destruction, which He guarantees).
‘For forty two months'. It should be noted that John gives the time in months when dealing with the enemies of God and in days when dealing with the people of God. Thus months are used in Revelation 9:5; Revelation 9:10; Revelation 11:2; Revelation 13:5 while days are used in Revelation 2:10; Revelation 11:3; Revelation 11:9; Revelation 11:11; Revelation 12:6. The forty two months are the same as the 1260 days, taking 30 days to the month, a regular approximation used in ancient days. ‘A time and times and half a time' means a similar thing here (Revelation 12:14). The reason for the difference in usage is to emphasise that God watches over His own day by day.
Three and a half years is looked on in Scripture as a period of trial and testing under the protection of God. Elijah the prophet prayed for God to withhold rain and this occurred for three years (1 Kings 18:1 with Revelation 17:1) which, following the six months of dry weather preceding the drought (the Mediterranean summer) brought it to three years and six months. The New Testament interprets this as a period of ‘three years and six months' (Luke 4:25; James 5:17). So three and a half years had early come to signify a time of judgment, persecution and want. During this period Elijah was guided by God to places where he would be provided for.
A similar period of ‘a time, times and half a time' is a feature of the prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 7:25), but there it probably indicates ‘a period of less than seven years'. It refers to the period when the ‘little horn', a fierce, conquering king, attacks ‘the saints of the most High' and seeks to ‘change times and law'. This is followed by the judgment and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:26-27).
In Daniel 9:27 we also have reference to the last half of Daniel's seventieth seven when ‘the sacrifice and oblation will cease' (in Christian terms true worship will be forbidden), and a desolator arrives on the wing of abominations, but three and a half years is not specifically mentioned and it is questionable whether the ‘seven' means seven years.
Some refer to Daniel 12:11, where a period of ‘one thousand two hundred and ninety days' occurs ‘from the time that the continual burnt offering will be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up', connected also with a period of one thousand three hundred and thirty five days (Revelation 11:12), both approximately three and a half years. But those probably refer to the abomination committed by Antiochus Epiphanes. It does, however, demonstrate that the period points to a period of trial for the people of God.
In Daniel 12:7 it refers to the time when the man clothed in linen held up his right hand and left hand to heaven and swore by Him Who lives for ever that it shall be for a time, times and half a time, ‘and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished'. Thus in all these cases it is a period of tribulation for the people of God, as well as being a period of desolation for the world, but it is not necessarily referring to the same period. Note that in Revelation ‘the sanctuary' is not to be violated. That is because it refers to the true people of God not to a literal Temple. The desolator can, and does, seek to destroy it, but he cannot enter its heart. It is inviolate. Not a hair of its head will perish (Luke 21:18).
But while this reference in Revelation to forty two months (and 1260 days, and a time times and half a time) is probably to some extent a connecting point with the prophecies of Daniel, John deliberately uses different terminology. Daniel neither specifically mentions forty two months nor one thousand two hundred and sixty days. Thus there is no direct connection. The failure by John to make the time the same as prophesied in Daniel must be recognised. He could so easily have done so, for Daniel does mention 1290 days and 1335 days to show that the people of God survive the three and a half years and come through it. John is therefore using the concept of the ‘three and a half years', and the significance that lies behind it, in his own distinctive way.
The main connecting point between Daniel and Revelation as far as verbal parallel is concerned is the ‘time, times and half a time' (used in both), which John sees and interprets as three and a half years (1260 days) (Revelation 12:14 compare 6) in line with his use of three and a half years. But while John is here referring to a period when the people of God will suffer tribulation, as Elijah did, he is not referring it to a period at the end of time.
In Revelation 13:5 he also uses the idea to depict another period of tribulation which he refers to his own day. He is not slavishly following Daniel. The period of ‘three and a half years' regularly signifies a period of particularly trouble, but such occur through history. There is not only one ‘three and a half years'. The idea occurs a number of times indicating special periods of attack on God's people, but it is not necessarily the same period timewise each time. Its significance as half of a ‘seven' indicates its lack of divine perfection.
However the reference in Revelation 11 does gain significance from Daniel, and in Revelation signifies the final three and a half years before the end. As in Daniel the official, open worship of God will cease and the people of Christ will be driven underground, with the authorities under the beast from the abyss seeking to destroy them. History repeats itself.
So, to summarise. The church of God, and especially the church in Jerusalem, are measured by God as preparing them for what lies ahead. By this they are shown to be His dwelling place, His sanctuary, and under His protection. As against them the nations will in the final days tread down Jerusalem. Those who dwell in Jerusalem, other than the church, will thus be without protection and subject to the iron hand of the nations. They are outside the protecting hand of God. However, as we shall see, He still seeks to bring them within His purposes.