Having been commissioned to prophesy by eating the little scroll, John is now recruited to “measure” the temple. And the altar. And its worshipers. But not the outer court.
Why measure the temple? What will that information provide? And why measure the worshipers? Did he measure their height? Their girth? There weight? And why exclude the outer court? So what if it is going to be trampled, you can still measure it first. Last of all, why didn’t John provide the information he had gained from his assessment with the reed?
The key to understanding the point of this exercise is found in that bit about not measuring the outer court. Many scholars believe that this measuring exercise was a symbol of providing protection. Hence, those within the temple will be protected from the “trampling” by the gentiles.
We must understand that this is all symbolic. John will not be measuring a physical temple, a tangible altar. Those within the temple, the worshipers, the Israel of God, the chosen people, whether Jews or Gentile, will be protected from the mayhem in the outer court. The “gentiles” trampling the outer court are also symbolic of all those, whether Jew or gentile, who are unbelievers and who war against the Lamb.
The forty-two months are also not a literal time span. 42 months is 3 ½ years or about 1260 days. This symbolic time span of 3 ½ years is half the perfect number 7. It indicates an indefinite period of time during which the “gentiles” will have the upper hand and during which God’s people can find refuge in the presence of God – in the temple.
This scene served to assure John’s readers, in yet another dramatic way, that, although terrible things are going to be taking place around them, they are part of the worshipers within the temple, protected from what is taking place in the outer court.
The same is true for us today. We must not wring our hands in despair at the world that is “going to hell in a handbasket” all around us. When we feel under attack by the cultural forces of this world that are defended by the gates of hell, we are not to despair. We have been measured for protection. The woes that John has been commissioned to describe will not destroy us or the Lamb.
Why measure the temple? What will that information provide? And why measure the worshipers? Did he measure their height? Their girth? There weight? And why exclude the outer court? So what if it is going to be trampled, you can still measure it first. Last of all, why didn’t John provide the information he had gained from his assessment with the reed?
The key to understanding the point of this exercise is found in that bit about not measuring the outer court. Many scholars believe that this measuring exercise was a symbol of providing protection. Hence, those within the temple will be protected from the “trampling” by the gentiles.
We must understand that this is all symbolic. John will not be measuring a physical temple, a tangible altar. Those within the temple, the worshipers, the Israel of God, the chosen people, whether Jews or Gentile, will be protected from the mayhem in the outer court. The “gentiles” trampling the outer court are also symbolic of all those, whether Jew or gentile, who are unbelievers and who war against the Lamb.
The forty-two months are also not a literal time span. 42 months is 3 ½ years or about 1260 days. This symbolic time span of 3 ½ years is half the perfect number 7. It indicates an indefinite period of time during which the “gentiles” will have the upper hand and during which God’s people can find refuge in the presence of God – in the temple.
This scene served to assure John’s readers, in yet another dramatic way, that, although terrible things are going to be taking place around them, they are part of the worshipers within the temple, protected from what is taking place in the outer court.
The same is true for us today. We must not wring our hands in despair at the world that is “going to hell in a handbasket” all around us. When we feel under attack by the cultural forces of this world that are defended by the gates of hell, we are not to despair. We have been measured for protection. The woes that John has been commissioned to describe will not destroy us or the Lamb.
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