And there was given to me a reed like a staff, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship in it.
The wide sweep of the trumpet judgments narrows to one city and one building, and John receives a measuring rod and a command. What does it mean to measure a temple, an altar, and — stranger still — the people standing in it?
Until now John has only watched. This command changes that.
"Rise and measure." John had been a passive but deeply interested watcher of the scenes shown under the earlier Trumpets. But now Israel, his own nation, is in question, and he is told to "rise." God's command stirs him into action. It is more than a mere question of posture.
The rod is named with two words that pull opposite ways: a reed, but firm as a staff.
The prophet now receives a reed like a staff, to measure the temple of God with it. A reed might suggest weakness, and in fact everything that is of God lies under that reproach at the time in view. But the words "like a staff" suggest the opposite thought. This measuring shows God's care for His people. To unbelief that care is a mystery, for His people seem exposed to the same ups and downs as other men. Yet it is a staff you may lean on with fullest confidence.
You cannot lay a measuring rod along a crowd of worshippers, and that impossibility is a clue to the meaning.
Once again the language is symbolic. A measure of length may suit a temple or an altar, but it cannot apply to worshippers in a literal sense. The thought seems to be that God examines these three and takes account of them. He ignores the outer court, since it lies under Gentile feet. This shows, we gather, that God is going to support what is of Himself among His people Israel here on earth.
The writers here read this as a real building in Jerusalem. A nation that still does not believe will put it up.
The events of this chapter concern the period after the church is gone and before the Lord's appearing. So the temple must be the one the Jews will build, while still in unbelief, after they return to their own land. Still, we find a true remnant inside the corrupt nation... The word used here for temple means the house itself, including the holy place and the most holy place. It is not the other word sometimes used, which covers the whole set of sacred buildings together with the court.
Scott adds a nuance: the picture holds even without a temple standing at that moment, yet he still expects one to be built.
The force of the figure does not require a material temple standing in Jerusalem at that time. Yet prophecy demands the building of a stone temple, and the rebuilding of Jewish life, both civil and religious, in that deeply solemn period between the church being caught up (1 Thess. 4:16-17) and the Lord's appearing (Jude 14, 15).
Which altar is meant? The answer tells you who these worshippers are.
The altar, I think, means the bronze altar outside; the golden altar stood inside the temple. "Those who worship there" are people marked by nearness to God. The altar was where a person truly came near to God, and they have come near Him. It was the place of the burnt offering, which marked the acceptance of the person. So here we see God owning a certain number of people on the earth as able to draw near to Him.
Dennett notes what these worshippers could not do, and what God counted them to be anyway.
In fact these worshippers had no access into the holy place. But we are taught here that God regarded them as belonging to it, even though they could not enter. So the remnant truly have a priestly character before Him.
One writer draws a clear line between this worship and the Christian's.
Jewish worship stopped in the past and will start again in the future. Christian worship comes in between. Christians have no place of worship on earth; they enter no temple here. Their one and only place of worship is the most holy place in the sanctuary above (John 4:21, 23, 24; Heb. 10:19-22). Their sacrifices are praise to God and practical kindness to others (Heb. 13:15-16).
- Rise — John stops watching and starts working when his own nation comes into view. The measuring is an act, not a posture.
- Reed — a fragile stalk that is also a staff. What belongs to God looks weak in that hour, yet His care is something you can lean your whole weight on.
- Measure — to measure is to claim. God takes account of temple, altar and worshippers and owns them as His, while the unmeasured court lies under Gentile feet.
- Altar — the altar of burnt offering marked the acceptance of the person. So those who "worship there" are people God owns as near to Him, given a priestly character even though they cannot enter the holy place.
- Contrast — Christians have no temple on earth. Their one place of worship is the sanctuary above, and their sacrifices are praise and kindness.
And the court which [is] without the temple cast out, and measure it not; because it has been given [up] to the nations, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty-two months.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.