"but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months." (Rev 11:2 - ESV)
But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. (Rev 11:2 - NIV)
Before diving into Revelation, please read:
the other prophetic works, since the same themes appear in all the prophetic works, but with different variations. E.g. the new Jerusalem, the four beasts, the four horsemen, locusts, the pit, etc, are all common motifs.
read about the temple. I recommend "The Temple: Its Ministry and Services" by Edersheim, it's a famous book you can find for free. Then things like the court of the gentiles, court of women, the 24 elders, the two lampstands, the bronze altar, altar of incense, coals on the altar, etc, will make more sense.
The temple has courts, the outermost court, open to all, is the court of gentiles where gentiles are allowed to go. This was a bazaar filled with pilgrims, money changers, people selling livestock and doves for sacrifice, priests directing people, etc. During the high holy days hundreds of thousands of people would go through this court.
But gentiles can go no further than the court of gentiles. This is where Jesus drove out the money changers:
John 2.14-17
In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Beyond that is the court of women where only jews could go, both male and female. But female jews were not allowed beyond the court of women. Then there was the court of priests where the sacrifices were performed at the brazen altar and then the entrance to the Sanctuary (the main temple building with the holy place and most holy place).
Thus unbelievers are allowed to "trample" or defile the Temple as long as the Temple resides in this world, because as long as there is a Temple the court of the gentiles is available to the gentiles. But this availability, this mixing in which the church must coexist with non-believers, and is thus persecuted by non-believers, will come to an end. The court of the gentiles is also referred to as "the outer court", and so appears in prophetic works, whereas the court of women and priests are referred to as "inner courts". This is the interpretation to Rev 11.2
But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
This is the entire world -- e.g. you have gentiles mixing with believers in the outer court, then the inner courts, then the holy place and most holy place. Thus everything that happens, happens in the temple (counting both the courts and Sanctuary).
The court of gentiles was a real place, but the temple being described in prophecy is spiritual, and it is this spiritual pattern against which all three sanctuaries (tabernacle, Solomon's Temple, Herod's Temple) were modeled.
That does not mean it is "figurative" per se, since God is spirit and God is real, not figurative. However all prophecy is a view into spiritual things, not sensual things, so if you are expecting literal streets paved with gold you will be disappointed. Prophecy is a set of visions, of images, and prophecy as a genre is a series of glimpses of the Temple, since the temple is the gateway between man and God, where God resides, and revelation of God is what prophecy is about. Thus we can also interpret prophecy as a description of what is happening within us, as we are the temple of God. It is the "physical" world that is a metaphor, as it is a type and shadow of the spiritual temple. So God told Moses to construct the tabernacle according to the pattern he saw in the revelation on Sinai:
Ex 25.8-9
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Thus the physical manifestation is a pattern or figurative image of the spiritual reality. Similarly the natural world is a pattern of the spiritual world - a type or shadow. Something transient, ephemeral, illusory, whereas the spiritual is real, permanent, and eternal. The world that we can see and touch is just a metaphor for things happening in the spirit. Therefore it's incorrect to call prophecy symbolic, although for practical reasons we do that. What we should do is call the world of the senses symbolic of what is revealed in prophecy.
Hebrews 10.1
For the law, possessing a shadow of the good things that are about to come, not the form of things itself, is never able ⌊year by year⌋ by means of the same sacrifices which they offer without interruption to make perfect those who draw near
1 Chron 29.15
For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
Job 8.9
For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days upon earth are a shadow
Eccl 6.12
For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
Heb 8.3-5 describes the services in the physical temple as types and shadows of Christ:
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
Col 2.16-17
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
So in our current shadow of reality we live together with unbelievers, and this coexistence is a metaphor for the outer court of the spiritual temple being trampled upon, but this is a temporary situation. With the interpretation of the temple being within us, we can say that there are aspects of our own inner life in which gentiles (or the world) is trampling, but this too will be removed. This is how I would interpret the passage.
Revelation 11:2 literal or figurative?
John is instructed to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. He is given a measuring rod to do this. The image of measuring is used in several places throughout Scripture. Sometimes the imagery is used of a plumb line as the people are measured against the standard of God’s laws.
2 Kings 21:13: "And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down."
Sometimes the imagery is used to measure those who are righteous.
Zechariah 2:1-5: "And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! 2Then I said, ‘Where are you going?’ And he said to me, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.’ 3And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him 4and said to him, ‘Run, say to that young man, "Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. 5And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.”‘“
At the end of the Book of Revelation we will see the city called the New Jerusalem, representing the people of God, being measured:
Revelation 21:15-17: “And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia [1,500 miles]. Its length and width and height are equal. 17He also measured its wall, 144 cubits [72 yards] by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.”
In Ezekiel, chapter 40, the prophet sees a vision of a person with a measuring reed in his hand. He is measuring the new temple of God and is to prophesy about the coming glory of the new temple.
The temple in the New Testament represents the true, holy people of God. In Revelation 3:12 we read that those who conquer will be made “a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it.” Paul also repeatedly taught that the people of God are God’s temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16: "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (emphasis added).
2 Corinthians 6:16: "What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people’” (emphasis added).
Many espouse a futurist method of interpretation to the Book of Revelation. They see the images of the temple in Ezekiel 40-48 and Revelation 11 and feel that a physical temple will have to be rebuilt one day to fulfill these prophecies. However, they are overlooking what Ezekiel prophesied in his day, which ultimately found its fulfillment in being joined to Christ:
Ephesians 2:18-21: "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
Christ is the cornerstone of this temple, while the apostles and prophets are the foundation. We are being built into the holy temple of the Lord, a steady process in which new members are added to the Lord's Church every day. We should not think that only a small group of Christians see this temple as a spiritual temple to the Lord.1
Therefore, when we read about the temple of God in Revelation 11:1 we are reading about the full compliment of the true people of God. They are measured for protection from spiritual harm. As we have already seen in the book and will see again later in this chapter, the measuring cannot mean that they will not be killed.
The seals have revealed that the servants of God would be killed but their salvation is secure even though they will physically die. The measuring of the worshipers is a guarantee that they are members in the heavenly, spiritual temple irrespective of what happens to them on earth.
1 Even the Qumran community, those who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, spiritualized Ezekiel’s temple. They declared the temple in Jerusalem as apostate and considered themselves the true spiritual temple (1QS 5:5-6; 8:4-10; 9:3-6; 11:7ff; CD 3:19-4:6; 4QFlor 1:2-9). They even used measurement imagery to describe the security of this temple (1QH 6:26).
The only way to determine whether this event has already taken place or whether it is still future is to work out whether Revelation 11:1-2 speaks of a literal or a figurative temple/courtyard. It may even be needed, thereafter, to consider the possibility of this outer courtyard exemption having started with Christ's ascension and continuing right until he returns.
Because verse 1 starts with "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod", this is a continuation of what was said before, about the prophetic ministry John was given, which started with him eating a little book that tasted sweet as honey in his mouth but which then made his belly bitter. After he'd done that, he was given that measuring reed. Was his eating of the little scroll from the angel literal? Of course not! Then why would anyone think the measuring, or the courts, would be literal?
However, this should remind us of an Old Testament section where the prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of God's city where a man who appeared as brass (brass standing for God's judgment) had a measuring reed with which to do much measuring, including an inner and outer court. It was all about the abominations of the house of Israel, even inside the temple, and God's coming judgment (chapter 44). Here is an explanation of the significant connection between Ezekiel and John's respective visions, first re. Rev. 11:1:
"This is a figure taken from Ezekiel 40:5, where the prophet sees a measuring reed... with this the measurements are taken of the mystical temple of Ezekiel chapters 40 to 43.. 'In the man's hand a measuring reed of six six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth.' Now, three palms of the hand measured one span. And two spans equalled one cubit. Therefore six palms of an hand measured one cubit. But the measurement of the mystical temple was not according to that cubit. The wording is this, Ezekiel 40:5, 'a measuring reed of six cubits by the cubit and an hand breadth.'
That means that the reed was not merely six cubits - which was the measure of an earthly man - because to each of the six cubits was added an hand's breadth... six hand's breadth equalled one cubit. Then six cubits of a cubit and an hand's breadth actually amounted to seven cubits. Perfect measurement. The measure of the perfect Man, that is, the heavenly Man, which is Christ. By this measure the mystical temple is to be measured.
This is the measure of conformity to the image of Christ, Rom. 8:29, not only individually, but of all such individuals corporately united: it is the temple that is to be measured. 'All the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye' - plural - 'are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.' Eph. 2:21,22.
Therefore, spiritually, the temple is no structure of stone, mortar, or wood. It is the inward habitation of God; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, dwelling within the unity of the saints separated from the world and gathered together in the Spirit.
This appears in Eph. 4:13 concerning the edifying of the body of Christ, 'till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.' Where his fulness, dwelling in the interior of the temple, that is, the saints gathered in unity, transforms the whole living company into his own likeness.
Not only is John given a book to eat, but also a reed to measure. The one is to the nations; the other is for the temple. He is not to measure the outer court, for that is to be trodden under foot of the Gentiles for forty and two months, the same period in which the two witnesses are to prophesy...
The reed represents the prophet's ability... to measure what is of God on earth at a given time, as opposed to what is merely supposed to be of God on earth at that time. This figure cannot possibly be confined to John, any more than the temple can be limited to the apostles' lifetime. Both these figures signify principles which can and must apply throughout the age... till the day of judgment.
...This measures where his presence dwells... The altar was the place where sin was condemned in the flesh and put away by the offering up of the body of Jesus once and for all. This becomes the measure. Nothing of the flesh is tolerated past the altar, which is at the threshold of the house...
The flesh - if not constantly kept mortified by the Spirit - will seek to claim the altar, and enter in some other way, setting up its own measurements, pretending to experiences to which it is foreign, assuming a false spirituality, tending strange fire... avoiding the man with the measuring rod." The Revelation of Jesus Christ, pp 251-255, John Metcalfe
Without grasping what verse 1 means, verse 2 will be in limbo. What is to be measured, and with what, determines the meaning of verse 2, which is what is being asked about. Now that the inner court and its symbolic measurement has been explained, it is easy to see what casting out the outer court means, and how that started to happen at Christ's ascension, continuing to this day. The explanation you seek follows::
"Now, to apply the figure of the temple, the entire temple, precincts, outer court, the whole, answered to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ in those wonderful early days of the ecclesia, the fulfilment of the type of the temple. The whole of the house of God was thronged with sons. The visible church in its entirety answered to the indwelling of Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and included all that could be measured with the measure of Christ.
But the Act of the Apostles is not Revelation, the last book to be written. By then the apostasy had begun to work... when 'they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables', II Tim. 4:3,4. This is outer court religion. This spread apace." (Ibid. p 257-8)
Those false teachers went out from the ecclesia - into the outer court - 'that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us', I John 2:19. So Jude confirms, "These be they who separate themselves" - from the apostles' doctrine and fellowship - "sensual, having not the Spirit" Jude vs. 19.
"The outer court presents an external, visible profession of Christianity - precisely because it is the outer court; the thing seen first, the thing most conspicuous - having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof. Visible, because one cannot see inside the shrine, but one can enter and survey the court. This is the outward form of Christendom... In the outer court gathers a flock of goats bleating, 'Lord, Lord' and appearing to mean each word of it. Here are the workers of miracles; the casters out of demons; the sounding brass of a babel of tongues; in a word, the gifts without the Giver." (Ibid. pp 258-9)
The symbolism of the forty-two months is then mentioned (for it is not literal either). It speaks of the duration of the testimony of God's two witnesses, which appears again and again through the age. Revelation 11:3 has God sending them to show up publicly the take-over of the professing church by rotten outer-court religion. God's prophetic word judges mere profession devoid of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This measuring of true holiness (found in those allowed into the inner court) means that unholiness is cast out into the outer court. Ezekiel spoke of that symbolic measuring and judging of God in his day; John was given the vision that started with the beginning of the holy ecclesia on that Day of Pentecost, to continue till Christ returns. The outer court of unholy religiosity is truly crowded now.
So the answer is, it is not literal but spiritual measure, according to the measure of Christ, which started at the birth of Christ's Church at Pentecost, to continue till Christ returns.
The extent to which the language of any passage is figurative vs literal can be gauged by the surrounding language:
For a consistent hermeneutic, Rev 11:2, 3 and must be viewed as figurative language as well (see also 8). The key to understanding Revelation's symbols to to find the Biblical precedent which in this case is possibly Luke 21:24 -
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
This is the possible allusion here because both Rev 11:2, 3 and Luke 21:24 contain a reference to the Jerusalem being trampled by gentiles/nations. There is also a an allusion to the Daniel's prophecies with 42 months and 1260 days being the same time period as the mentioned in Dan 7:25, 12:7, 12:11. Note the helpful comments of Ellicott :
(Rev 11:2) But the court . . .—Translate, And the court which is outside the Temple cast out, and measure not it; because it was given to the nations (Gentiles): and they shall tread down the holy city forty and two months. The outer court—meaning, perhaps, all that lies outside the Temple itself—is to be omitted. ... It is the treading under of sacred things when the beast-power, or the world-power in men, tramples, like the swine, the pearls of grace under their feet, and turns fiercely upon those who gave them. Such an experience must the Church of Christ undergo. The shrine shall be safe, but the spirit of the nations, though nominally Christian, will be the spirit of Gentilism, worldliness, and even of violence. In the outer court of Church life there will be “the ebbing and flowing mass,” who “sit in the way of knowledge,” who “stand idle in the market-place,” who have no oil in their lamps, and who indirectly pave the way for utter worldliness and practical heathenism. But there is a limit to this desecration: forty and two months it is to last. The same length of time is expressed in different forms throughout the book. Sometimes we have twelve hundred and sixty days, as in Revelation 11:3 and in Revelation 12:6; at another time forty-two months, as here and in Revelation 13:5. A similar period seems to be meant in Revelation 12:14, where a time, times, and half a time is probably a way of expressing three years and a half; all three forms describe periods of the same length—not, of course, necessarily the same period. The idea is taken from Daniel, who uses such and similar expressions (Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7; Daniel 12:11). This incorporation of the expressions used by Daniel is one of those hints which remind us that the laws and principles of God’s government are the same in all ages: so that the principles which receive illustration in one set of historical events are likely to receive similar illustrations in after times; and that the prophecies of one era may contain seeds of fulfilments which spring to fruit in more than one age. ... but for the present, the period of forty and two months, the equivalent of three years and a half (the half of seven, the complete and divine number), is the symbol of a period limited in length, and under the control of Him who holds the seven stars and lives through the ages. It is the pilgrimage period of the Church, the period of the world’s power, during which it seems to triumph; but the period of sackcloth (see Revelation 11:3) and of suffering will not last forever.
The 42 months was literal, not figurative. Rev. 11:2 follows Rev. 11:1.
"And there was given to me a reed like to a rod, and the messenger stood, saying, `Rise, and measure the sanctuary of God, and the altar, and those worshipping in it;" (YLT)
The people were still worshipping in that temple when the book was written. A reed, or rod... we might compare this rod to a yardstick. See Ezek. 40:3 where the angel has a measuring reed for the re-construction of the temple that was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
The measuring of the inner sanctuary was symbolic of preserving the true and faithful worshipers just as the angel was to seal the righteous servants in Rev. 7:3 which were represented by the symbolic 144,000 - the 12 tribes multiplied by the perfect and complete symbol of 1,000. To preserve, or keep from harm from the army that God was going to send to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
There is no temple for the house of Israel today in Jerusalem, and has not been since AD 70. In order for this prophesy to be used as something to come in our future, or any other future generation would require that a temple in Jerusalem be rebuilt, and then another army sent to destroy the city and that future temple a 3rd time. The entire prophesy of Revelation was for the destruction of Jerusalem and that temple which was still in existence when the book was written.
The assumption that Revelation was written during the last decade of the 1st century AD is false, and stems from a misunderstanding or misuse of a statement made by Irenaeus who was referring to Nero and not Domitian.
"“It was written in Patmos about A.D. 68, whither John had been banished by Domitius Nero, as stated in the title of the Syria version of the book; and with this concurs the express statement of Irenaeus in A.D. 175, who says it happened in the reign of Domitianou – i.e., Domitius (Nero). Sulpicius, Orosius, etc., stupidly mistaking Domitianou for Domitianikos, supposed Irenaeus to refer to Domitian, A.D. 95, and most succeeding writers have fallen into the same blunder. The internal testimony is wholly in favor of the early date. The temple at Jerusalem was still standing (ch. 11.1-10); the exact duration of the siege is foretold, viz., 42 months, 3(-)1/2 years, or 1260 days; the two witnesses are to be slain in the city where our Lord was crucified; Nero was reigning at the time, for it is said of the seven kings of Rome; ‘five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.’ The five kings are Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius. The ‘one who is ‘ is Nero; the one who ‘must continue for a short space’ is Galba, who reigned only seven months. Everywhere the events are ‘to come quickly,’ lit. ‘with haste,’ or speed (ch. 1.1; 2.16; 3.11; 11.14; 22.7, 12, 20). The escape of the Christian Jews from Jerusalem to Pella is undoubtedly referred to in ch. 7.1-8, compared with Mat. 24.30.’” (Source: Young's Analytical Concordance, 1885) (1)
The Roman army destroyed the city and the temple in Jerusalem during the first Roman-Jewish war of AD 67-70, or in 42 months which is the equivalent of that same prophetic destruction told to Daniel of the "time, times, and a half" for the destruction of Jerusalem (Dan. 12:7).
Which is the same 1260 days (42 mos. x 30 days) or Rev. 11:3, or the last half of the last 7 years of Dan. 9:24 - 3-1/2 years. Daniel was asking when the end of "these things" shall be, and so many people remove Dan. 12:6 from the entire context of the prophesy which began in Dan. 9 where Daniel asked for the end of the desolations (destruction) of JERUSALEM.
"17 and now, hearken, O our God, unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto his supplication, and cause Thy face to shine on Thy sanctuary that [is] desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18 `Incline, O my God, Thine ear, and hear, open Thine eyes and see our desolations, and the city on which Thy name is called; for not for our righteous acts are we causing our supplications to fall before Thee, but for Thy mercies that [are] many." (Dan. 9:17-18, YLT)
And Gabriel told Daniel:
"`Seventy weeks are determined for thy people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies." (Dan. 9:24, YLT) (2) (3)
Daniel 12 was still discussing the prophesy begun in Daniel 9 which concerned Daniel's people (the Jews) and Daniel's holy city(Jerusalem). The end of those things was the end of the earthly animal sacrificial system under the earthly carnal Mosaic covenant.
The birthing of the spiritual out of the carnal or fleshly system occurred at the end of the days of the destruction of earthly Jerusalem and the physical Mosaic temple. The earthly or natural comes first, and then the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:42-49). The resurrected new Jerusalem and new temple was spiritual, not physical.
All of Revelation was the prophesy of Christ's coming in judgment of that natural earthly temple system in Jerusalem which was finished in AD 70 when the Romans burned the city and tore down the stones (Matt. 24:2) during the 42 months of that war in the 1st century AD. It has already happened.
Notes:
Signs of Revelation, Part I: The Time of His Coming ShreddingTheVeil
The Seventy Weeks of Daniel Chap. 9 ShreddingTheVeil
Daniel and the End Times ShreddingTheVeil
Revelation 11:2, literal or figurative?
I believe, wholeheartedly, that we are talking figuratively here, with regard to the temple sanctuary and its altar, not to mention the outer court. As a consequence, we can neither be talking about the 2nd temple, nor even a 3rd, for it can only be symbolic, spiritual even. As for the courtyard, which is attributable to the Gentile nations, it is to be excluded from John's measuring, suggesting that certain ones of these, at least, will be outside the protection of God.
The setting here is between the blowing of the 6th trumpet and the 7th and final trumpet and is therefore yet future, or could even be to do with the 'here and now'. [ I am not, however, an advocate for the '7 year tribulation' period, as I believe the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled in the 1st Century, i.e. 66 AD thru 73 AD, as I have expressed numerous times on this site, but that's by the way here ].
The temple sanctuary and altar, as such, is being shown to be in survival mode. It is the symbolic outer courtyard, that is to be cast clear out, without being measured, it having been given over to the Nations/Gentiles, who are to, subsequently, tread under foot the holy city (so called, New Jerusalem) for 42 months. The 42 months (1260 days), as at least pertaining to this particular verse (for there are other same length periods in Revelation and Daniel) could be past, present or future and even part of an even bigger number. However, for the eschatologists among us, we cannot help but feel that September 11, 2001, may have indeed heralded the beginning of the end. The 4 blood red moons of 2014 and 2015 AD, making for the last of 10 'tetrads' in the 'Common Era', the first being that of 32 and 33 AD, which culminated in the 'Ransom Sacrifice', may yet yield their significance in the unrelenting march of time since. The number 10, after all, signifies completeness. One should probably take note of the fact that it has not even been 2300 evenings and mornings since 2015's end of September(09/28/2015), final blood red moon of the possible, all encompassing, 10th tetrad.
I will close here with Daniel's 13th and 14th verses of his 8th chapter, widely accepted as being of a dual prophetic nature.
Dan, 8:13,14 [NASB]:-
...13) Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, " How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?" 14) And he said to me, " For 2300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored."
I believe this passage should be interpreted under the understanding that the Christian community itself is the "temple of God" for the New Testament era.
That statement is based on 1 Corinthians ch3 v16; "Do you not know that you [plural] are God's temple [singular] and that God's Sprit dwells in you [plural]?" (RSV)
The second half of that verse explains the first. In principle, a temple is a place where a god dwells. Through his Spirit, this God dwells in "you", that is in his community (the "building" metaphor was introduced earlier in the chapter). Therefore the community is his temple. In the context, the point is that anyone who breaks up the community is guilty of the heinous crime of destroying a temple (v17).
This identification allows us to interpret the Revelation passage in a figurative way.
The "outer court" given over to the "nations" represents the external structures of the church, physical and organisational, which may fall into hostile hands. I suggest that the beast being allowed to "conquer the saints" (Revelation ch13 v7) has the same meaning. I suggest that the "man of lawlessness" being able to "take his seat in the temple of God" (1 Thessalonians ch2 v4) has the same meaning. A purely superficial victory.
"The altar and those who worship there", measured as the true temple on the analogy of Ezekiel ch40, represent the inner core of believers with unquenchable faith, which stubbornly testifies to the world from v3 onwards. Presumably these are the same people who were "sealed" as God's property in ch7.
Perhaps I had better add, to avoid misunderstanding, that I am not seeking to identify these people with any existing group, denomination, or organisation. Especially not Jehovah's Witnesses.
This all falls into Revelation's depiction of a supreme and final crisis of persecution, which hasn't happened yet. Therefore future.
In short, the figurative interpretation works, and contributes towards a coherent message.
P.S. I have a book which covers these things in more detail; http://amazon.com/Silence-Heaven-Survey-Book-Revelation/dp/1597556734
I feel I need to provide another outline for consideration. However this outline contradicts, and confronts the several others already posted at this time, so may receive some pushback.
Revelation 11:2 is describing a literal event. But, within this, the ‘measuring’ is using figurative language/scenario to convey something that is part of the ‘literal’ scene being witnessed.
The vision is outlining that the ‘use’ of the (inner) temple will need to comply with Torah. That is, the ‘workings’ of the temple, the way it is to be used, will need to be ‘measured’ (made to fit, comply with) what is outlined in Torah -
DANIEL 5:27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;
Here we ‘see’ an example of how the Old Testament uses measuring ‘terms’ to describe behaviour, or ‘practices’. So the ‘use’ of ‘measuring’ terminology is commonly used to ‘measure’ behaviour, in this case ‘temple practice’. The Temple will operate ‘by the book’ so to speak. Revelation is essentially a book written from a Hebraic perspective - and utilises ‘Old Testament’ ‘thinking’ - so it needs to be interpreted from this perspective.
But, the temple itself is (will be) literal. So the passage in Revelation 11:2 is describing a literal situation. There will be a [3rd] temple built. And the outside court will not be, or rather is specifically specified not to be considered.
One passage assumed those (like myself) who hold to this ‘third temple’ view that it relates to that (again literal!) temple outlined in Ezekiel 40/41, but that temple is (will be) the Millennium temple. (It’s far too large to fit on the current temple mound!)
Let’s look at some foundational ‘views’ that sûpport this ‘literal’ interpretation.
Jesus in his first visit …
LUKE 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
But he failed to read the concluding passage!
ISAIAH 61:2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn;
Revelation is about this part Jesus did not quote in Luke 4 - because that part did not (yet) fulfil on his first coming. And to fulfil this ….. he needs Israel. This statement will meet pushback from some, but it is an alternative view that some have - hence I’m outlining this for consideration.
This period (Revelation) is all about Israel. Revelation is about setting up for - and then describing Daniels 70th week.
The ‘end times’ is about Jesus, as Messiah, representing Israel (once they repent and accept him - which the Tribulation will drive them to do!) - [righteously] defeating the [literal and. Multiple] spiritual entities behind evil - who will be ‘using’ the nations as their means.
DANIEL 9:24 ”Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,”
A Holy city needs a sanctuary. A Temple. And a Messiah! But, Israel rejected the/their Messiah.
DANIEL 9:26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
This is arguably a poor translation. Young’s gets closer to the correct. The Messiah is cut of from his people. Stop. The ‘70’ weeks stops after 69. And this results in the temple shortly after being destroyed. But for the 70th week to restart, continue and thenbe completed, it (the Temple) will have to be rebuilt first!
He Dead Sea scrolls help with some understanding of ‘ages’ and ‘times. But, that to one side, let’s stay with scripture…
LUKE 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21 compliments Matthew 24, Jesus talking about the times of the end. The Gentiles have a ‘set’ amount of time. Some (unfortunately) loosely term this ‘the age of Grace’. Nevertheless an (set/literal) amount of ‘time’ has been ‘given’ to the nations (aka Gentiles) - and they will trample the Temple court’s until that time is over - then the 70th week can finally complete.
Yes - Revelation 11:2 is quite literal. Time will tell!!!
Research into Revelation 11:2 literal or figurative? is better understood if one accesses the Siener Van Rensburg - documents/visions (aka Krausa document); please Google 'Siener van Rensburg' for better detail otherwise read on my brief synopsis.
Briefly, Siener van Renburg, made famous during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1901, a layman preacher/dominee who served alongside General De La Rey, the Afrikaners (+-80 000) were up against Imperial Britain (+-480 000). Siener via his vision, as the war, started informed the Afrikaners that they would lose the war and their women and children were to be incarcerated into camps (the World's first Concentration Camps before the German Death camps of WW2).
Siener's study of the Bible drew so much ire (the British were supposed to thrash the Boers in 6 months, instead it went on till 1901 exhausting Britain/England) from the British that after the Anglo-Boer War they held 2 formal committee reviews (1 - Military, 2 - Legal) into the guy Siener van Rensburg. The aim of the committees was to 'trash' him or show him as a phony who led the General de la Rey on via deception/intrigue, and not via his Biblical knowledge which was applied practically to the battlefield too. To those that have read this far, a juicy titbit, while in court the English judge "forbade him to have any visions" to which he replied "but I can't I'm having one now . . . my son is dead", the judge annoyed, was interrupted by a court messenger that delivered to the judge a note, the judge ripped open the note and read out allowed "your son has died". Thus was Siener's power of Gospel/Biblical facts and insight, all provided by God for your study/review.
Now, briefly, Siener (whom I studied diligently 2016 - till now), attributed his visions to the Christian God, he read (just get this), only the Bible (New & Old Testament), yet he was able to interpret all Biblical events, not only that, he is able to predict the coming of WW3 (UK will swap sides (Brexit is now) and join Russia just before WW3 starts). Every vision he had, related to the Biblical events, and those in Revelations, actually happened (he provided insight into the plagues - too much to add here in this short synopsis), such that the famous Revelation 11:3–12 is a description of two individuals, these two are in fact Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, who represent the Church on Earth, both will be captured during WW3 (by Russia-UK), executed/martyred and after 3.5 years, once the Axis forces are driven back, the Church will be restored (both come to life and are taken up to heaven before all mankind).
Thus Revelation 11:2 is more literal, though if one cannot fit the pattern(which Siener did), then it, Revelation 11:2 becomes figurative.
