MEASURING THE TEMPLE

Again John turned to the Old Testament prophecies for images to adapt to his own ends. In ch. 11:1-3 he received a measuring rod and instructed to measure the temple and those who worship there. This may seem a strange instruction for the temple had been destroyed in 70 CE, probably within John’s lifetime. However, the symbol stands for the church, not made with hands but living, faithful people who follow Christ.

But John also received instructions not to measure the outer court of the temple and the holy city. These represent those church members who have compromised with the world – the Nicolaitans, Balaamites and the lukewarm, loveless, lifeless members of Laodicea, Ephesus and Sardis (chs. 2-3). It is not they, but the faithful who will bear the coming martyrdom.

Faith fully lived yields profound insecurities. God does not offer the faithful freedom from suffering and death. Rather, they experience much hostility which may well endure for some time. That is the meaning of the cryptic references to time extending for many days and months.

There follows an enigmatic passage (vss. 4-13) about two witnesses symbolized as two olive-trees and two lamps. These represent a proportion of the whole people of God who have inherited from Christ his regal and priestly functions expressed in a number of Old Testament allusions to Zarubbabel, Joshua, Moses and Elijah, all regarded as prophets. With these references John was speaking of the prophetic witness Christian martyrs would give at their trials in the Roman imperial courts represented by a great monster arising from the abyss (vs.7). The resulting bloodbath would shock all who saw it, but would turn many to repentance.