Chapter 7 Measuring the Temple
Rev 11:1 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.
2 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.
Adventists scholars admit that Rev 10 and 11 is probably the most difficult portion of Scripture to understand (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/) We recognise that measuring the temple means judgement and see it as the Investigative Judgement. However, this poses two anomalies: This passage puts the preadvent judgement at 538 AD, before the 1260 years when the Medieval Papacy came to supremacy. Another problem is that only the righteous are being judged, not those who have not made a commitment to Christ. As so often in our interpretation of prophecy, there is not a natural sequence to the prophetic events.
Let us analyse the text and use other Scripture to help us understand the meaning of this passage of Scripture. We see a whole section of Ezekiel on measuring the temple in great and minute detail. Eze 40 - 42. What was the meaning of this significant portion of Ezekiel? The temple of Solomon had been destroyed during the Babylonian captivity and at the time of Ezekiel’s vision, did not exist. God was showing Ezekiel that the temple would exist again, that it would be built. Measuring the temple shows that it would be restored and complete again. Therefore, the antitypical temple in heaven will be restored to its rightful condition when the prophecy of Rev 11:1 comes to fulfilment.
Another passage that helps us understand Rev 11:1 is Leviticus 16:33:
33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, all the sins of Israel for that year were cleansed, and the nation had a fresh start, only to sin again in the new year. The antitype occurs only once. When the antitypical Day of Atonement comes, there will be a fresh start for the whole world, but there will be no sin again among God’s chosen, therefore their natural and inborn propensity to sin will be taken away. When the Day of Atonement comes, we will be cleared of all our sins, and also our sinfulness. We will have no more desire to sin. We will be like Christ on earth, among sinners, being tempted but without sin.
Measuring the temple indicates the Close of Probation. The passages in Leviticus indicates that the temple, the altar, the priests and the congregation are cleansed on the Day of Atonement. However, Rev 11:1 indicates that the temple, the altar and the people in the temple are measured, but not the people in the outer court, the Gentiles. The people who are not in the temple, but the outer court, are not measured yet. They have 42 months of grace before their probation closes. If they are given grace, it means that some of them will still be converted to Christ before their probation closes.
We see, therefore, there are two Closings of Probation, one for God’s people that are in the temple – the priests – and one for the general populace, those that only have access to the outer court of the temple. This thought is not unsubstantiated by Scripture and types, as the following texts indicate. Lev 16 shows that on the typical Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the Most Holy Place twice, first with the blood of the bullock to make atonement for the priesthood, then he came out and killed the goat, and went in again with the blood of the goat:
Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Ezekiel 9 is about judgement at the end of time. The judgement begins at the sanctuary:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Peter also talks about judgement beginning at the house of God in his first epistle:
1 Pet 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
It is clear that Rev 11:1, 2 are referring to the Close of Probation for God’s people, the end-time priesthood. Who are they? God’s end-time apostles, the 144 000. They are priests, mediating for the righteous in the world before God. God is searching the Earth today, looking for people who are preparing themselves before Him, to do His final work in the final 3.5 years of Earth’s probation. When He has found 144 000 such people, He will measure His temple, the altar, and His worshippers, sealing them, closing their probation, removing their propensity to sin, and then commission them to bring the last message of salvation to all people – the Three Angel’s Messages. After the 144 000 are sealed He will allow the winds of strife to be let loose on Earth.
Do you know and love God? Are you humbling yourself before Him? Then it could be possible that he will appoint you as one of His end-time apostles and priests, to finish His work on Earth.
Rev 11:1 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.
2 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.
Adventists scholars admit that Rev 10 and 11 is probably the most difficult portion of Scripture to understand (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/) We recognise that measuring the temple means judgement and see it as the Investigative Judgement. However, this poses two anomalies: This passage puts the preadvent judgement at 538 AD, before the 1260 years when the Medieval Papacy came to supremacy. Another problem is that only the righteous are being judged, not those who have not made a commitment to Christ. As so often in our interpretation of prophecy, there is not a natural sequence to the prophetic events.
Let us analyse the text and use other Scripture to help us understand the meaning of this passage of Scripture. We see a whole section of Ezekiel on measuring the temple in great and minute detail. Eze 40 - 42. What was the meaning of this significant portion of Ezekiel? The temple of Solomon had been destroyed during the Babylonian captivity and at the time of Ezekiel’s vision, did not exist. God was showing Ezekiel that the temple would exist again, that it would be built. Measuring the temple shows that it would be restored and complete again. Therefore, the antitypical temple in heaven will be restored to its rightful condition when the prophecy of Rev 11:1 comes to fulfilment.
Another passage that helps us understand Rev 11:1 is Leviticus 16:33:
33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, all the sins of Israel for that year were cleansed, and the nation had a fresh start, only to sin again in the new year. The antitype occurs only once. When the antitypical Day of Atonement comes, there will be a fresh start for the whole world, but there will be no sin again among God’s chosen, therefore their natural and inborn propensity to sin will be taken away. When the Day of Atonement comes, we will be cleared of all our sins, and also our sinfulness. We will have no more desire to sin. We will be like Christ on earth, among sinners, being tempted but without sin.
Measuring the temple indicates the Close of Probation. The passages in Leviticus indicates that the temple, the altar, the priests and the congregation are cleansed on the Day of Atonement. However, Rev 11:1 indicates that the temple, the altar and the people in the temple are measured, but not the people in the outer court, the Gentiles. The people who are not in the temple, but the outer court, are not measured yet. They have 42 months of grace before their probation closes. If they are given grace, it means that some of them will still be converted to Christ before their probation closes.
We see, therefore, there are two Closings of Probation, one for God’s people that are in the temple – the priests – and one for the general populace, those that only have access to the outer court of the temple. This thought is not unsubstantiated by Scripture and types, as the following texts indicate. Lev 16 shows that on the typical Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the Most Holy Place twice, first with the blood of the bullock to make atonement for the priesthood, then he came out and killed the goat, and went in again with the blood of the goat:
Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Ezekiel 9 is about judgement at the end of time. The judgement begins at the sanctuary:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Peter also talks about judgement beginning at the house of God in his first epistle:
1 Pet 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
It is clear that Rev 11:1, 2 are referring to the Close of Probation for God’s people, the end-time priesthood. Who are they? God’s end-time apostles, the 144 000. They are priests, mediating for the righteous in the world before God. God is searching the Earth today, looking for people who are preparing themselves before Him, to do His final work in the final 3.5 years of Earth’s probation. When He has found 144 000 such people, He will measure His temple, the altar, and His worshippers, sealing them, closing their probation, removing their propensity to sin, and then commission them to bring the last message of salvation to all people – the Three Angel’s Messages. After the 144 000 are sealed He will allow the winds of strife to be let loose on Earth.
Do you know and love God? Are you humbling yourself before Him? Then it could be possible that he will appoint you as one of His end-time apostles and priests, to finish His work on Earth.
Chapter 7 Measuring the Temple
Rev 11:1 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.
2 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.
Adventists scholars admit that Rev 10 and 11 is probably the most difficult portion of Scripture to understand (https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/the-two-witnesses-of-revelation-11/). We recognise that measuring the temple means judgement and see it as the Investigative Judgement. However, this poses two anomalies: This passage puts the preadvent judgement at 538 AD, before the 1260 years when the Medieval Papacy came to supremacy. Another problem is that only the righteous are being judged, not those who have not made a commitment to Christ. As so often in our interpretation of prophecy, there is not a natural sequence to the prophetic events.
Let us analyse the text and use other Scripture to help us understand the meaning of this passage of Scripture. We see a whole section of Ezekiel on measuring the temple in great and minute detail. Eze 40 - 42. What was the meaning of this significant portion of Ezekiel? The temple of Solomon had been destroyed during the Babylonian captivity and at the time of Ezekiel’s vision, did not exist. God was showing Ezekiel that the temple would exist again, that it would be built. Measuring the temple shows that it would be restored and complete again. Therefore, the antitypical temple in heaven will be restored to its rightful condition when the prophecy of Rev 11:1 comes to fulfilment.
Another passage that helps us understand Rev 11:1 is Leviticus 16:33:
33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, all the sins of Israel for that year were cleansed, and the nation had a fresh start, only to sin again in the new year. The antitype occurs only once. When the antitypical Day of Atonement comes, there will be a fresh start for the whole world, but there will be no sin again among God’s chosen, therefore their natural and inborn propensity to sin will be taken away. When the Day of Atonement comes, we will be cleared of all our sins, and also our sinfulness. We will have no more desire to sin. We will be like Christ on earth, among sinners, being tempted but without sin.
Measuring the temple indicates the Close of Probation. The passages in Leviticus indicates that the temple, the altar, the priests and the congregation are cleansed on the Day of Atonement. However, Rev 11:1 indicates that the temple, the altar and the people in the temple are measured, but not the people in the outer court, the Gentiles. The people who are not in the temple, but the outer court, are not measured yet. They have 42 months of grace before their probation closes. If they are given grace, it means that some of them will still be converted to Christ before their probation closes.
We see, therefore, there are two Closings of Probation, one for God’s people that are in the temple – the priests – and one for the general populace, those that only have access to the outer court of the temple. This thought is not unsubstantiated by Scripture and types, as the following texts indicate. Lev 16 shows that on the typical Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the Most Holy Place twice, first with the blood of the bullock to make atonement for the priesthood, then he came out and killed the goat, and went in again with the blood of the goat:
Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Ezekiel 9 is about judgement at the end of time. The judgement begins at the sanctuary:
6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.
Peter also talks about judgement beginning at the house of God in his first epistle:
1 Pet 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
It is clear that Rev 11:1, 2 are referring to the Close of Probation for God’s people, the end-time priesthood. Who are they? God’s end-time apostles, the 144 000. They are priests, mediating for the righteous in the world before God. God is searching the Earth today, looking for people who are preparing themselves before Him, to do His final work in the final 3.5 years of Earth’s probation. When He has found 144 000 such people, He will measure His temple, the altar, and His worshippers, sealing them, closing their probation, removing their propensity to sin, and then commission them to bring the last message of salvation to all people – the Three Angel’s Messages. After the 144 000 are sealed He will allow the winds of strife to be let loose on Earth.
Do you know and love God? Are you humbling yourself before Him? Then it could be possible that he will appoint you as one of His end-time apostles and priests, to finish His work on Earth.
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