2. THE THE TEMPLE, ALTAR, AND WORSHIP Revelation 11:1-2 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.--In the preceding chapter the symbolic scenes were transferred from heaven to earth. This vision is also upon the earth. As John himself became a part of the vision of the little book, so he is a part of this vision. There appear before him the temple, altar, and worshipers with instruction to measure the three. While the old temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed for more than a quarter of a century, yet there was no more forceful way for John to understand the lessons than through that picture. Jewish minds had been accustomed for centuries to the temple system of worshiping God. Besides, before its destruction it had been used as a type of the church. (1 Corinthians 3:16.) Even the tabernacle. which preceded the temple was definitely made, in its two parts, to represent the church and heaven. (Hebrews 9:1-9; Hebrews 9:24.) John's being told to measure the temple, altar, and worshipers in the symbol meant that when the time arrived that this vision applied the church, the worship, and worshipers were to be measured. Once more we have in this text an example of a symbolic passage which contains both figurative and literal expressions. The words temple and altar are figurative; the word worshipers is literal. Measurements to be correct and valuable must be made by standard and accurate implements. In this case John was given a reed like a rod, something both accurate and convenient. Note that it was given him, not something he made; it must have been given by the angel, not by men. Since the purpose of measuring, according to verse 2, was to determine what was approved or acceptable to God, then the measuring instrument had to be of divine make. This was nothing else than the New Testament teaching that already had been given by the apostles. As it was perfect (2 Timothy 3:16-17), nothing else was allowed as a standard (Galatians 1:8-9). 2 And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations --Since the word Gentiles means "nations," there is no difference between the King James and the Revised in meaning. The Gentiles could enter the outer court of the Jewish temple, but not the temple itself. In fact, only consecrated priests could enter that building. The altar referred to is the golden altar of incense inside the holy place of the temple. The Jewish priests were typical of Christians. (1 Peter 2:5.) As John in the symbol was told to measure the worshipers (priests) so in the thing represented only those professing to worship God were to be measured. The reason for this is that at the time the measuring was to be done the religious world was in a hopeless state of apostasy. The purpose of applying God's word to such false religions was twofold first, to show that they were false; second, to show honest souls how to worship God in spirit and in truth. It was unnecessary to measure the irreligious; if they wanted to be saved, the law was in God's word already. But false teaching needed to be measured to show it a perversion of divine truth. and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.--The material temple was in Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, and was considered a holy city. Like the temple, it is also a type of the church. (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22.) The final state which we call heaven is referred to as the "holy city, new Jerusalem." (21:2.) The words could not mean literal Jerusalem, for that has been "trodden down" by Gentiles practically all the time since it was taken by the Romans in A.D. 70 till the present, which is more than 1,260 years. To be trodden under foot would be fulfilled when Gentiles would corrupt and devastate the church. This had already been done when the measuring of the temple began with the Reformation. How long the church had thus been corrupted by worldly influences is stated here to have been "forty and two months." If taken literally, it would be three and one-half years or 1,260 days. This would be entirely too short a time to correspond with the period when the church was corrupted by worldly and human devices. With the yearday theory the time was 1,260 years. This is substantially the length of time that Roman Catholicism ruled with absolute authority, and therefore the time that religious corruption completely permeated church life. It would not affect the argument if the exact date when the period began and ended could not be ascertained; the facts would still be true. The period evidently refers to the time during which the church was completely under the domination of the papacy; or, from the time the bishop of Rome became head of the church (pope) till his power was broken by the Reformation.