,, And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.”
Rev. 11: 1-2
"And a reed was given unto me as a rod, saying, Arise, and measure the church of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. And the port that is outside the church, throw it out, nor measure it, because it was given to the pagans; and the holy city shall tread forty and two months. "
Here at the beginning it says "measure the church of God" but other translations translate this as "measure the temple of God" which means that this is not about the Church of Christ because it is already in heaven but it is about one temple of God and that is the temple in Jerusalem. The time when John wrote this was after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and the prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Matthew was fulfilled there.
,, And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Mt.24: 2
This is the temple of Solomon, which was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar by the king of Babylon almost five hundred and ninety years before Christ. after his name, Herod's temple. This temple of Herod was destroyed by the Romans, led by the emperor Titus, in the seventies, and today the Omar mosque is on its foundations.
So today there is no temple in Jerusalem and John was told to measure it, which means that the temple needs to be rebuilt, and that will happen in the first half of the great troubles after the ascension of the Church of Christ.
,, Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:”
Acts 15: 14-16
For the construction of this temple, the Jews have already prepared a lot, there are even replicas, so it seems that they can start construction very quickly, of course this will not happen until the right time to start construction and this is one of the signs that close.
We read in our text that John needs to measure this temple that has yet to be built. "And I was given a reed like a stick." This reed that is spoken of here grows in the Jordan Valley and it is very suitable for measuring because it is very light. And now John needs to do the following:
"Arise and measure the church of God and the altar, and those who worship in it," so he should measure the temple, the altar, and those who worship in the temple.
Solomon's temple was divided into four parts, so that the central part of the temple was the Holy of Holies and only the high priest could enter that part and only once a year. The first section to the Holy of Holies was the Holy of Holies priests and there was an incense altar. John was told to measure the brass sacrificial altar which was in the third part called the Porch and also John should "measure" those who worship in the temple and that is the Jews. in the temple we do not know whether their prayers were according to God's will or not, but it is possible that it is not according to God's will because John measures with a stick which is a symbol of punishment.
"And the port that is outside the church, throw it out, nor measure it, because it was given to the pagans; and the holy city will trample for forty-two months "this is Karadzic's translation but other translations are:
“And he left the porch outside the temple and did not measure it, because it was given to the Gentiles; they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. "(Saric) or
"And leave the outer court of the temple alone and do not measure it, because it was given to the polytheists and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months" (Čarnić)
In any case, it is about not measuring this part of the temple. The gate is this part and it was intended for pagans.
Of the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus said:
,, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Luke 21:24
The time of the pagans began with King Nebuchadnezzar and will end when the Lord Jesus comes in glory and destroys the "ten fingers" from the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, that is, the restored Roman Empire.
The time of the pagans means the period in which world power was taken from the Jews and given to the pagans, we can say that it is political power or the time of the pagans and it will last until the Lord Jesus Christ comes and sets up his kingdom on earth.
Apart from this, there is also the spiritual time of the pagans, and it started when spiritual blindness fell to Israel, and that is the time when the pagans have the main spiritual role, and that is the time and this in which we live, that is the time of the Church.
,, For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”
Rom.11: 25
"And the holy city will tread for forty-two months." When the Antichrist comes, he will come with false peace and Jerusalem will probably be peaceful, and that is the first half of the great troubles, but the second half of the great troubles begins with a turn in relations between the Antichrist and the Jews.
,, And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Daniel 9:27
The Antichrist will break the covenant of peace, and then there will be forty-two months or three and a half years in which the Gentiles will trample Jerusalem, "and the holy city will trample forty-two months."
During this period, symbolically speaking, John's staff will measure, try and convince God's chosen people to return to the covenant ties.
,, Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
Daniel 12: 10-11
Great tribulations are near, so that we too may not be measured by "John's rod" God tells us through the Bible:
,, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Rom.10: 13
