Thank you priest team. Can we come together now to the
Book of Revelation Chapter 11? Meet me there in your own copy
of God's Word, Revelation Chapter 11.
As useful as chapter breaks and verse numbers are in our Bibles,
they occasionally can be unhelpful to the untrained eye.
And Revelation 11 exemplifies this because the chapter heading
may give the impression that the vision John described in chapter
10 has come to a close and we are now being introduced to an
entirely new scene. But that is not the case.
Revelation 11 is a continuation of the vivid experience that we
explored together last week in chapter 10.
Now keep in mind that in Revelation 10, the vision there,
it served as a pause between the 6th and the 7th trumpet blasts,
and that pause is extended. That vision goes on.
The interlude remains in effect. Evidently the Lord wants to say
more to us before we advance in the unfolding of His final
judgments on the earth. And we are today going to look
at the 1st 2 verses of this new chapter to see exactly what this
extended break entails. So if you're there with me,
let's read Revelation 11 verse one down to verse 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 42 months.
This read verse 3. And I will grant authority to my
2 witnesses and they will prophecy for 1260 days clothed
in sackcloth. Let's pray together, Lord, only
You can make these verses come alive.
And we pray that you would captivate us with every single
observation, every cross reference, every application.
Move us deeply. We pray for something greater
than just the satisfaction of our curiosity or intellect.
We pray that You would satisfy our souls, that we would leave
here more content in Christ, that we would leave here longing
to worship You as we are beholding Your brilliance and
Your beauty in this very passage.
So, Lord, assist the delivery of this message and assist our
hearts in receiving it with humility and with anticipation.
We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen and Amen.
Hopefully you remember how Revelation 10 ended.
John was explained to us something incredible, but at the
end of that chapter he was handed something.
He was handed a little scroll and he was told to take it and
to eat it. And this as it were, served as a
symbolic recommissioning for John because immediately after
he digested the written word of God, he was told that he must
still prophesied to many peoples and nations and kingdoms.
But that little scroll is not the only thing that John
received. We just read that he also was
handed a measuring rod. Now pause for a moment.
Hopefully you remember also that John eating the scroll strongly
alludes to Ezekiel's experience when he was called into the
ministry early in his book. He too was given a scroll of a
book written on it with lamentations and woes and and
really prophecies of judgement. But it was sweet to his mouth.
And so there's a resemblance there.
But it doesn't end there. It actually continues because
Ezekiel, when you Fast forward in his book, beginning in
chapter 40, he also is taken up in a vision.
He's placed on a very high mountain and he sees a man with
a measuring Reed. And this heavenly messenger
will, from that chapter on to the end of the book of Ezekiel,
measure the temple complex, and he will explain how this temple
will at one point host again the glory of the Lord.
Do you see the parallel? John eats a scroll.
Well, Ezekiel ate a scroll. John now has a vision with a
measuring rod. Well, Ezekiel had the same
thing, though he didn't measure it.
It was there. And they're measuring a very
similar object. There are many things that we
can say about this connection, but I want to simply leave you
with this. It's clear that John here is
following the steps of the role of a traditional prophet.
And understanding that is going to help us interpret the verses
that we read, specifically the 1st 2 verses.
And the way we are going to approach this is by answering 2
simple questions. What is John supposed to
measure, number one? Number two, why is he measuring
it? If anyone were to ask you those
questions, leaving this place, my goal, my prayer.
Yes, we want our hearts moved. Yes, we want to worship.
Yes, we must be sanctified. But I also want all of us to be
able to answer with biblical confidence.
Now I'll tell you from now these answers will be lengthy, but we
have to do the work because we want to confirm our conclusions
are grounded here in Scripture. And so hold tightly to your
Bibles because we will be looking at different passages.
But let's now seek by the grace of God to answer question number
one. What is John supposed to
measure? Look back again at verse one.
There are actually three things he's told rise and measure #1
the temple of God #2 the altar and #3 those who worship there.
This is what you're supposed to measure and count John.
And though there are three distinct things, it seems like
the temple as a whole is what is in view.
Now this seems seems pretty straightforward, does it not?
Well, like many parts of Revelation, there are debates
around what exactly this temple refers to, and I think it's
helpful for us to consider alternative views and
understandings of this temple in order for us again, to be able
to understand why we espouse a particular interpretation.
So be aware that what I'm about to explain are just the general
points of different explanations for what this temple is.
If we look at every single idea and point under every category,
we'll be here for a very long time.
So this is just really an overview, an overview that we
have seen before with the the four main ways people frame the
Book of Revelation. So this will be this will just
compound what we've been hearing throughout the weeks.
Well, number one, you have those again who view the Book of
Revelation as what a chronology of history at large.
And it's filled with symbols about the different empires and
leaders and movements and features of history spelled out
here for us ahead of time. And these individuals who
interpret the book in such a way are known as historicist.
This is history told to us in advance.
And this is how they would teach this part of revelation.
They would say the temple here is a symbol.
It is a symbol of the people of God, not just the people of God,
the people of God preserved and protected.
But we also saw that there there was a part of the temple, the
outside court, that was not measured.
And these individuals will say, well, those speak about not the
people of God, but those who think they're the people of God,
the apostate Christians, those who are empty professors in
Christ. And what they would also say is,
this is richly symbolic, sure, but it points to a particular
moment in history. And some, not all, would say
this actually would speak to the Reformations, purification of
the Church, the spiritual revolution led by Martin Luther
in the early 1500s. And they would go on to explain
that the measuring rod is actually a symbol of the
rediscovery of true doctrine. And the trampling that we saw
here explained in the first verses actually speaks about the
persecution of the people of God by the papal powers, the
Catholic Church. Interesting.
But this is not the only group that views this snapshot of
prophecy allegorically. You have the idealist.
The idealists also look at the Book of Revelation as hyper
spiritualized. But here's the difference
between them and the historicist.
They don't pin any description, any prophecy, any picture to any
moment in history. None.
What they would say is this is just a creative and poetic and
apocalyptic way of kind of explaining the recurring pattern
of the struggle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom
of darkness, good and evil. And so it's very simple for them
how they would look at the temple of God here in Revelation
11. This is a picture again of the
people of God. The the part that's measured, at
least the part that's unmeasured, like the historicist
would say these are the fake Christians.
And we read there the end of verse 2 how they would be
trampled the holy city for 42 months.
Well, the 42 months isn't a literal time period.
It just speaks about an unspecific, though limited time
of persecution. Now I say, I said I wouldn't go
too deep into this, but you may encounter some who see the Book
of Revelation as spiritual, purely spiritual.
That would say, no, it's not really about the people of God
and those who are not really the people of God.
They would say that the part that's measured, the temple
complex that actually speaks about the believers in heaven.
Why? Because you see this consistency
in the Book of Revelation that wherever the temple is
described, it's it's mainly found in heaven.
So these are the protected people of God in heaven, and the
ones that are being trampled on are actually those who remain on
earth and are still being persecuted.
So let me just say this immediately.
There are clear issues with looking at this temple as a
symbol for one simple reason. John very clearly distinguishes
between the temple and the people.
Did you see that? Look again, Rise and measure the
temple of God and the altar and those who worship there.
So here's my response, at least right away.
If the temple speaks about the people of God, then what about
the worshippers in the temple? Who do they symbolize?
Who do they speak about? Are they one and the same?
Are they different? And this is just one of many
interpretive obstacles for viewing the temple of God here
as just symbolism. But then we see something else
because there are those who actually see this as literal.
And the first group are the preterist, those who view the
Book of Revelation not, not as something to come, but something
that's already been at least most of it, especially the 1st
century, especially events surrounding the fall of
Jerusalem, 70 AD. So actually for the preterist,
this is a rich proof text. They would argue, you see, this
is dealing with exactly what the main theme that we've been
proposing, the temple falling, that era coming to an end,
Christ's prophecy of this judgment is here.
And they would say this is a text that shows it, that this
temple is being measured for judgment.
But there is a part of it that's preserved because there was a
faithful in Jerusalem at the time of 70 AD.
And the part that's not measured speaks about the Roman Empire
trampling upon the Jews for their denial of the Messiah.
And this is quite interesting, as you can imagine, because they
from their perspective, don't see this as a spiritual symbol,
especially the outside court, but as the historical Herodian
temple that existed but was later destroyed by the Romans.
Finally, you have the Futurist. And as the name suggests, the
Book of Revelation is primarily about the days to come,
especially after chapter 4. And for those who hold to this
frame of interpretation, the futurist make the case that when
you consider the dating of the Book of Revelation when John
compiled it, the majority view is that it was put together in
9596 AD. Is that before or after the
temple fell? After it was composed in the
90s? When you when you keep that in
mind and consider the wider biblical data of the events of
the last days, this temple speaks about a literal structure
found in a literal city called Jerusalem.
And this is what I believe to be the clearest and the most
consistent understanding of this passage.
Allow me to explain further. Let's begin by examining the
term Temple of God or temple of the living God, or temple of the
Holy Spirit or God's temple in the New Testament.
Apart from Jesus claiming that his own body was a temple in
John 23 main places, notable occasions where it is speaking
spoken about figuratively are in the books of Corinthians.
The first two books, the only two books that we have, at least
you have First Corinthians 619 where Paul says your body
individually is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
But then he goes on to say in First Corinthians 316 and 2nd
Corinthians 616 that the temple of God is the corporate body of
Christ. But when you look at those
contexts, what do you discover? That the plain reading is
obvious. Paul is speaking about spiritual
realities. There's nothing of an actual
building in view and his teaching.
So the context supports the idea that yes, we are indeed indwelt
by the Holy Spirit. We are to see this as a an
awesome privilege and it should spur us on to greater holiness.
But the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, God's
temple. That kind of terminology is not
strictly for the believers sanctified relationship with
God. You actually find the Lord Jesus
Christ and the apostle Paul teaching about a temple related
to a key event in the last days. They don't just bring it up,
they teach how it's an integral part of the final experiences
and episodes leading to the culmination of the age.
You know these passages well, but let's remind ourselves and
the Olivet Discourse. What did Jesus say in Matthew 24
when he described the events of the last days?
He presents a turning point in verse 15.
He says. So when you see the abomination
of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the
holy place, underline that standing in the holy place.
Let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains. Let the one who was on the
housetop not go down and take what is in his house, and let
the one who was in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
And alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are
nursing infants in those days, pray that your flight may not be
in winter on on a Sabbath, for then there will be great
tribulation, such as not been from the beginning of the world
until now. No, and never will be.
If you read Jesus teaching on the Olivet Discourse very
carefully before this, He speaks about worldwide events and then
he zooms into a specific geography, a specific area.
He's talking about the Jews here, and he highlights the holy
place. He highlights somebody standing
in there. And Paul builds on this teaching
when he reminds the Thessalonians about the last
days. Here's another important
reference. In Second Thessalonians 2-3 and
four, Paul says, let no one deceive you in any way, for that
day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the
man of lawlessness is revealed. The son of destruction, who
opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or
object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of
God, proclaiming himself to be God.
So in contrast to the symbolic use of imagery regarding the
temple in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, the surrounding
passages clearly indicates and what we just read, that the
temple or the holy place is an actual structure.
It's an actual edifice. It's spoken about in literal
terms with physical activity. Did you pick up on how Jesus
taught about this holy place? He mentioned homes.
He mentioned housetops, He mentioned fields.
He mentioned pregnant woman, nursing infants, winter and the
Sabbath. And when Paul speaks about the
man of lawlessness who's an actual human being, he says that
he will take his seat in the temple of God.
It's very difficult to try to spiritualize these verses when
you just read it plainly. It's so crystal clear, is it
not? And once we are willing to
acknowledge that, then we can move on and say, well, it seems
as though the Temple in Jerusalem and the events that
will occur within it at some point play a very important role
in the drama of the last days. Now, I'm aware that there might
be hesitation by some to accept that what we read in Revelation
11 is a tangible thing. So I want us to return to the
immediate context of Revelation 11.
We just read the first 3 verses. We're focusing on the 1st 2:00,
but this whole thing about the temple is just setting the stage
for the main point of this passage.
We're going to read about in the coming weeks the two witnesses,
these mysterious figures who will play an awesome role in
preaching to the generation before the return of Christ.
And when you read, though we're not going to get into a detail
now, when you read about the destiny of their ministry, it
only confirms that what we're dealing with here is that with
the temple is literal. OK?
Are you there in Revelation 11? Look at verse 7.
And when they had finished their testimony, that is the 2
witnesses, 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 in
Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.
Where was the Lord crucified? Jerusalem.
Here we have this mention of the great city and more than that,
these bodies lying down on a street in the great city.
This is the same context as the Temple early on.
It only confirms more in the following verse.
Look at verse 13 of Revelation 11.
In that hour there was a great earthquake and a tenth of the
city fell. 7000 people were killed in the earthquake and the
rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
So this is even more hopefully persuasive to the one that is
reluctant to accept this interpretation surrounding this.
Just like Jesus's teaching and Paul's teaching surrounding this
mention of a temple. We have a real city, real
people, a real earthquake. To say otherwise can leave an
endless list of opportunities and interpretation of what this
could mean. Now one of the main objections
you'll encounter if you hold to the literal view is that there
is no way that God would acknowledge or accept a revival
of this temple and the sacrificial system.
How can you even entertain the thought that after the temple
was destroyed in 70 AD that there's a future time?
Well, it will resurrect in some way and that God somehow is
approving of this. Have you not read the book of
Hebrews? And passages in Hebrews will
often be quoted to to defend this objection.
Here's how I respond and what I just explained.
Did you hear anything of God approving of the temple?
The honest answer is no. In fact, look back again at
verse 7 and verse eight. Look at verse 8 specifically.
And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city
that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt.
Does that sound like approval to you for this great city, this
holy city, to be called symbolically Sodom and Egypt?
So here's what we're trying to establish that the Bible teaches
about a literal temple that will exist during the Tribulation
period and will serve as the setting for major events
signaling the return of Christ. And the temple here clearly
doesn't exist. There hasn't been one for a very
long time, but apparently it's going to reappear.
Somehow, some way, it's actually going to reappear.
And this now leads us to our second question.
Why is John measuring it? Why is John measuring it?
So we've established that this temple is literal.
And though there's so much more we can say, we have to move on.
This act of measuring it is highly symbolic.
It has many implications that if you remember that John is
imitating a traditional prophet, makes more sense.
So let me give you at least two reasons why we can say that when
John is told to measure the Temple, it carries more
symbolism that him actually determining the dimensions and
the heights of the different elements of the temple.
This is not the only thing that is measured in the Book of
Revelation. In fact, when the New Jerusalem
will come down from heaven, after John is told that there's
going to be a new heaven and a new earth, it's going to be
measured. But notice the difference.
Now, are you in Revelation? Fast forward to chapter 21 and
look at verse 16, Revelation 21, verse 16.
This city lies Foursquare, its length the same as its width,
and he measured the city with his rod, tough thousand stadia.
Its length and width and height are equal.
He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement,
which is also an angel's measurement.
What's the main difference between the city of Jerusalem
being measured here in the new heaven and earth and what we
find in Revelation 11? Revelation 11 omits actual
measurements. We don't have any numbers here.
We don't have specifics. Those specifics are preserved
for this new city. Which leads us to our second
reason why there aren't any measurements.
Because we find here that John is actually doing something that
is frequent in the Old Testament.
John is imitating the actions of some prophets who also explained
certain prophecies with this act of measuring.
And this, remember, confirms how we opened the very beginning of
our study in Revelation, that this book is absolutely
saturated with Old Testament themes, and measuring is one of
them. See, if you just read Revelation
on your own or you just stuck with the New Testament, you
might be led to different ideas. But if you have the the backing
of the Old Testament, then you go, I've seen this more than
once. I've seen this many times
actually. Let me give you a couple of
examples. So Amos, Amos was given a
prophetic word for his people and in Amos 7 verse 7, listen to
what it said. This is what he showed me.
Behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a Plumb
line. Do you know what a Plumb line
is? It's a chord.
I don't have one to show you, so just use your imagination.
It's a chord with a weight on it.
And it was used in construction or an evaluation to determine if
a wall or a structure was was straight.
So Amos sees a Plumb line and then in verse 8 it says, and the
Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see?
And I said a Plumb line. And the Lord said, Behold, I am
setting a Plumb line in the midst of my people Israel.
I will never again pass by them. The high places of Isaac shall
be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be
laid waste, and I will rise against the House of Jeroboam
with the sword. So a plum line, an actual
instrument used in construction and measuring, is now symbolized
as God looking at His people and seeing if they line up with His
righteousness, if He is with His Holiness, with his commands.
And the conclusion they're crooked, they're not in
alignment with me, my will, my mind, my desires.
And so a sword is coming to my people.
A sword is coming to Israel because the Plumb line shows
I've measured. They are not where I want them
to be. You see this again in another
part of the Bible that's rarely visited in Lamentations.
Just listen to these references. Lamentations 2, verse 8,
Jeremiah's reflecting on the judgement that eventually came
to Judah. And here's one of the things
that he says. The Lord determined to lay in
ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion.
He stretched out the measuring line.
He did not restrain his hand from destroying.
He caused rampant and wall to lament.
They languished together. So another tool is brought up.
God has a big tool belt, by the way, and now a measuring line is
described. Why?
Because Jeremiah in his book wants to tell the people that
the judgement that came at the hands of Babylon was not
accidental. It was not coincidental.
It was not random. It was measured by God.
And not only was it decreed by God, it was calculated.
It was just, it was fair. I looked at your sins and I met
it with its appropriate response.
Here is the verdict. My measuring line shows that you
are found wanting and This is why you were judged.
So we see it right? And we can, we can go on and on
with examples, but here's the final one.
Because this concept of measuring is not limited to
judgement. It's not limited just to
evaluating where one stands with God, though that is a prominent
idea. There's actually positive side
to this. And you're only going to see it
with the prophets. So now listen to this.
I know it's a lot of scripture. I know it's a lot of scripture.
But listen, we got to know why we believe what we believe, and
we have to base it on the Bible. And so This is why we're doing
this. It's heavy lifting, but it's
important. So you must write down these
references and you must be a good brain and examine the
Scriptures for yourself. Zechariah was given a vision and
in chapter 2 he sees this amazing thing.
Listen to this in verse one of Zechariah.
And I lifted my eyes and saw and behold a man with a measuring
line in his hand. God loves to measure things.
Verse 2 Then I said, where are you going?
And he said to me to measure Jerusalem, to see what its width
and what its length. And behold, the Angel who talked
with me came forward, and another Angel came forward to
meet him and said to him, run, say to that young man, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because the
because of the multitude of people and livestock in it.
And I will be to her a wall of fire all around the clears of
Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.
That's good news. So Zechariah sees this man and
he goes, What are you doing with the measuring rod?
He says, well, I'm actually going to measure the parameters
here. Why?
To show you that there's going to be so many of the Jews coming
back. They're going to have so many
possessions that there won't be room for walls.
So God's going to determine to actually be their wall, and he's
going to be a wall of fire around them.
This is very similar to Revelation 11 in what sense?
You have this actual city, Jerusalem, but a symbolic act of
measuring it, right? The temple, Literal rod.
Yeah. It's in the vision.
Measuring it. Why?
This is what we're trying to answer.
And for God to measure the city and Zechariah in this way says
something about his relationship with the city.
I own it. This is mine.
I determine its boundaries. I determine.
Its renovations, I determine it's adjustments.
This belongs to me and Zechariah, I want to tell you
about an update that's coming. So you have this now in your
mind. You come to the New Testament
and you see something strangely mirroring it in John's vision.
He's told to measure it, the temple, the altar, the
worshippers in it. And it's the Lord essentially
saying it's all mine. These belong to me.
And not only do they belong to me, I will preserve them.
I will protect them. Here's the answer to our 2nd and
final question. Why is John measuring the
temple? God will mark out a Jewish
remnant in the last days that he will preserve and protect.
That's the answer. Why will he do that?
Because God has promised over and over, and the exclamation
mark is in Revelation rather Romans 11, that this people who
have rejected the Messiah will one day be saved as a nation.
They will remember, they will reflect, they will repent, and
they will be reconciled to the truth, and they as a nation,
will declare Jesus Christ of Nazareth is our Messiah.
And here's the point of the vision.
And none of the calamities in the Tribulation period and none
of the maniacal attempts of the Antichrist will prevent it.
We'll stop it. Nothing will stop that promise
being fulfilled. This is fascinating because it
seems to be a very important point in the Book of Revelation.
Let me remind you something. We're looking at the pause
between the 6th and the 7th trumpet blast.
Do you remember that? There was a pause with the
seals, with the 6th and the 7th seal.
There was also an interlude. What was that interlude?
The 144,000 from Israel who were sealed and set apart during the
Tribulation. So what was God saying back
there with the seals? Up to this point of my program
of judgement, I'm still keeping my hand on the Jewish people.
Now you come to the second set of judgement with the trumpets
and between the 6th and the 7th, what do you realize?
I'm still keeping my hand on the Jewish people.
Just different imagery. Do you see this?
That being said, the Jewish people will not be totally
spared from the challenges of the Tribulation period, and that
is clearly indicated by what we read in verse 2.
Look back at Revelation 11 verse 2.
The Lord tells John, 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
42 months. For thousands of years the city
of Jerusalem has been oppressed and controlled by various
Gentile nations. I mean just read the Old
Testament. What do you find?
Siege after siege after siege, until it was finally brought to
the point where Babylon ransacked Jerusalem, and after
some time Jerusalem passed to the Medo Persian Empire, then
Greece, then Rome, and the pattern continued right up
today. When the when the Jews in the
city of Jerusalem cannot enjoy full autonomy.
Do you think a Jew can go to the Temple Mount today and worship
the way they want to worship? No, they can't.
It's occupied. There are issues even at this
very moment that although they've been restored as a
nation and they have a lot of improvement made, they do not
have full sovereignty. And whatever harassment the
Jewish people have known in the past, it will pale in comparison
with the level of persecution they will know in the world
under the control of the Antichrist, especially for 42
months, 42 months, that equates to 3 1/2 years.
Now there's debate. Is this speaking about the 3 1/2
years in the beginning of the Tribulation or in the latter
portion of the Tribulation? One thing is certain, that for 3
1/2 years they will indeed know a suffering that is unthinkable.
There will be a trampling. And I find it interesting that
John is led by the Spirit to use similar language that Jesus
employed when he spoke about the future of Jerusalem.
If there's a reference that you must put in your margin if you
write in your Bibles, it's this one.
Luke 2124. Listen to what Jesus said about
Jerusalem. Luke 2124.
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be LED captive
among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by
the Gentiles. Does that sound familiar?
For how long until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled?
That's important. So what's Christ teaching here
while he's prophesying the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD?
The verses preceding this clearly explain that it
happened. But notice that after the fall
of Jerusalem, Jerusalem would come under Gentile control for a
long period of time. And we're seeing it even to this
day, are we not? But there's an expiration date.
Yes, they will come under Gentile control until the times
of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Implying what?
That one day Jerusalem will shake free from Gentile control.
And it makes you wonder whether part of the times of the
Gentiles includes the 42 months of their peak persecution
against Jerusalem. Which, if you believe is the
latter part of the Tribulation, shows that at the end of the 3
1/2 years, Jesus Christ comes back.
And when He comes back, what does He do?
He sets up his rule and reign where?
Not New Jersey and Jerusalem. Could that be it?
Could that be what Christ is saying here?
Gentile control over Jerusalem until the times of the Gentiles
are fulfilled. You go to Revelation 11, you
realize that it will be trampled by the nations that word nations
in Revelation 11 to his Gentiles.
Same thing, same idea, the nations trampling under foot the
outer court of the Temple for 42 months.
This is why you have a strong case that this is speaking about
the last 3 1/2 years. Because at the end of the last 3
1/2 years, Christ cracks open the skies and he descends and he
plants his feet on the Mount of Olives, and he claims Jerusalem
for himself. This is mine.
This is mine that harmonizes quite well.
You can imagine how encouraging this must have been for John
personally when he received this vision.
Because if he did write it in the 90s, which most scholars
believe he did, then it was only 20 something years prior where
he heard the horrific news that Jerusalem was surrounded and
destroyed, the Temple was laid waste, a million Jews, over a
million Jews were slaughtered, countless were exiled and
dispersed. Israel's future was utterly
bleak. And John is in this trance.
He's in the island called Patmos.
And then at this point in his vision, he sees a temple with an
altar and people in it. And where is it?
Well, according to the context, it's in the city, the same city
that was destroyed, which is a couple of decades ago.
And he realizes that not only does he see a vision, but he
sees this measuring rod handed to him.
And he understands what this means because it signifies God's
possession and his preservation and His protection.
So, oh, you have a future for this people.
And this lines up with the rest of the Scriptures if you have a
literal understanding of it. Now, I understand some who might
be hearing this. Hopefully you're convinced, but
are trying to understand how it's even possible.
You're telling me that in this kind of climate, politically,
and it's not projected to get any better, there's going to be
an actual temple there again? What are the answers for that
preacher? I don't have to give you 1.
I can't figure it out. And it made me think, what if
somebody who knew these prophecies 100 years ago was
asked, Hey, I, I, I looked at these prophecies about God
bringing back the Jewish people to their land.
How, how is that going to happen?
And I'm sure he had a similar response to this dilemma.
I don't know how he's going to do it, but it wasn't too long
ago that he did. And if he brought this people
back to their nation, how much is it going to take for him to
build a building again? It's an interesting series of
thoughts and meditations. If His word is true, and if we
interpret it I believe the way it should be, then what is being
foretold here will come to pass. When I given the mechanics, when
I given the blueprint, all we're told is that it's going to
happen. Let me end on a different note
here. One of the things that struck me
when I was meditating on this very thing was something that I
already said earlier. And when you look at all these
prophecies and cross references, you realize God measures things.
And you know where my mind went, how Jesus in His first coming
measured the temple. At one point in His ministry,
actually more than once, the temple before was destroyed.
Did you know that Jesus evaluated it?
Let me remind you, He enters into Jerusalem triumphantly and
in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 11 verse 11, there's this
interesting detail that he gives us.
Listen to what Mark says about Jesus after he comes into
Jerusalem in Mark 1111. And he being Jesus entered
Jerusalem and went into the temple.
And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already
late, he went out to Bethany with the 12.
Why are we being told that Jesus entered into the temple and
looked around at everything? Why do we even need to know
that? Well, just a few verses later,
what happens? Jesus comes back to the temple
and he cleanses it. Do you know why he cleansed it?
Because Jesus here is imitating one of the laws in Leviticus
that if there was some disease in a home, a priest was supposed
to go in and evaluate the situation and he was supposed to
go through all this protocol. And if he returned to the house
and it was still diseased and contaminated, the final solution
was what? Destroy it.
So Jesus, he fulfills that law. He, he imitates that practice.
He, he comes into the temple and I, I, I love to meditate and
actually envision what that looked like.
Here he is the background noise of all the praises and all the
leaves being wave. All of that now quiets down and
Jesus without saying a word walks into the temple and with
those piercing eyes discerns and he walks away.
And this is not the only time he evaluated.
As I said earlier, you remember John 2 early in Jesus, Jesus's
ministry. Let me read to you what he did
in the beginning. John 214 in the temple, he found
those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and the money
changers sitting there. Do you remember what he did
then? Right.
Yeah. He cleansed it.
You know, the word found there in the Greek, it doesn't denote
accidental discovery. Like he came in like, oh, what
is this? It actually speaks about
scrutinizing. He examined intensely and so in
the beginning of his ministry, he goes, my house is
contaminated, it's time to cleanse it.
So he cleanses it. And in the Mark 11, by the end
of the the story, he goes back to the temple because again,
that's what the priest would have done to see.
Is it still clean? And it wasn't.
What was the final solution? Leviticus, if it's still is
unclean, if it's still polluted, bring it down.
What did Jesus say? Not one stone will remain.
God loves to measure things.
And here's the here's the thing that moved my heart.
If he was interested in measuring that temple, if he's
measuring the future temple in the tribulation period, what
about the temple today? Where is that you and me, us.
Do you think he has a measuring line for us?
He does and he measures a lot more than you.
And I think let me give you one thing.
You remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7.
One and two judge not unless you 2 be judged with a judgement
that you pronounce with that measure, it will be measured to
you. Awesome.
So Jesus actually measures how we judge others.
How generous are you and I with our love and forgiveness?
How patient are we with others? And here's what he does when he,
when he examines the measure we use, he takes it into account
when we need something from Him. This is fascinating.
What else does he measure? Well, look through the New
Testament, I realized that He actually measures my motives,
not just my actions, not just what you do, but why you do it.
Oh Lord, He is very committed and invested in His temple
today. And here's how I found myself
praying in light of our study in Revelation, relearning that God
loves to measure things, more spiritual realities than
anything else. Search me, examine me and see if
there'd be any wicked way in me. And Lord, I pray that you
cleanse me. Cleanse me.
I want you to find everything in me that is pleasing to you.
And He is so gracious if we are but honest, and we invite Him to
do that work in US. Let's end here. 2 questions were
answered today. What is John measuring?
A literal temple to come. Why is he measuring it?
Because God wants to tell us in this vision that in the last
days he is going to preserve a remnant of Jewish people.
Because He promised the Jewish people that they would be saved.
And with all the chaos in Revelation and all the schemes
of the Antichrist and all the evil that will erupt, nothing
will be able to prevent that plan.
What does that mean for you? He's a faithful God.
Another layer I just learned, I guess, that God likes to measure
things. So what does He find in me?
That's what we're leaving with today.
And this is how we're ending today.
So let's pray and ask the Lord to measure our hearts.
Father, we ask you with many verses that were shared and many
thoughts and observations that were made, that You would not
allow us to lose touch with how this speaks to us personally.
And so we pray, Lord, that you would receive glory and honour
for helping us understand these verses.
And Lord, thank you for leading us and guiding us to the truth
of how you who evaluate and assess should be mindful of your
omniscience in our own lives. So Lord, even now we pray that
from head to toe, if there's anything that we know that we've
been harboring, justifying, trying to hide in the walls of
our hearts behind certain closed doors, things that nobody else
may know about. But you see, we pray, Lord,
today, use it, use this service, use this time to cleanse us and
to purge us and to renew us. Lord, only you can do that.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, man can only go so far.
So Lord, we surrender our hearts to you.
We pray that your power would be made known in the sanctuary.
We give you praise and glory and honor in Jesus name, Amen.
If you need to do business with God and you prefer sitting down
to speak to Him, remain seated. You don't have to stand up with
everybody else. I want to give you this time to
actually commune with the Lord. If you want to stand and you
want to sing, you can do that as well whenever you're ready.
But I just really want to take this time to respond to Him and
to seek Him. And so let's just do that for
these next few moments. We're in His house and we've
heard from Him, so let's give the time to speak to Him now.
Again, if you want to stand, you can do that.
If you want to remain seated, you're free to do that as well.
But let's just at least seek the Lord before we close this
service officially.