What does it mean to “Measure the Temple”?
“Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” Are we concerned here with the physical dimensions of the temple in heaven?
No. The word measure is being used in its metaphorical sense, meaning to judge according to a standard. Consider these two uses of the word:
Matthew 7:2, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
2 Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Does
“With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” (
Mark 4:24) remind you of
“Judge not that you be not judged” (
Matthew 7:1)?
So
“measuring” in the Bible can, and often does, mean something along the lines of
“judging.”
Who is to be judged?
And who was to be judged?
“Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there” (
Revelation 11:1). It is not buildings being judged, but people. What people?
“Those who worship in the temple.” Again, at the time of this vision, the Jerusalem temple has been destroyed, and is certainly no longer spiritually relevant, so this must, again, be referring to the temple in heaven.
Are there human beings worshipping in the heavenly temple? No, the dead sleep until the resurrection (
Psalm 13:3; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29). What is being discussed is not people currently worshipping in the temple but people who, in the Old Testament times, brought their sacrifices to the temple and laid their hands on its head, confessing their sins and symbolically transferring their sins onto the animal, which was then slain, and the blood brought into the tabernacle (
Leviticus 4:3-7). Thus, their sins were then transferred into the temple through the blood of the sacrifice (
Hebrews 13:11). In New Testament times, we simply claim by faith the blood of Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice on our behalf:
“But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands . . . He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (
Hebrews 9:11-15)
Those who were
“worshipping in the temple” were those who had confessed their sins, claimed the blood of the Sacrifice, and had their sins transferred into the temple. These people are the ones to be judged.
By now it should be obvious that
Revelation 11:1-2 is a picture of the investigative judgment. The earthly sanctuary was cleansed once a year on the Day of Atonement, when the sins that had, over the course of the year, been transferred into the temple by means of a sacrifice were symbolically removed from the sanctuary by placing them upon the scapegoat, who was not slain but taken out into the wilderness by a fit man (
Leviticus 16) The same thing must happen in the heavenly sanctuary.
“But before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation—a work of judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem His people; for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man according to his works.” GC 421.3
This is the investigative judgment, which began at the end of the 2,300 year prophecy, and must continue until the close of probation, which is shortly before the Second Coming.
A clue that
Revelation 11:1-2 refers to the investigative judgment is found in the phrase,
“measure . . . the altar . . .” Again, we are not concerned with physical dimensions, but with judging people, so what is meant by measuring the altar? Where else in Revelation have we heard about an altar?:
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been" (
Revelation 6:9-11).
Here we are shown saints, righteous people, who were martyred for their faith. These people are
“under the altar,” figuratively meaning that they are covered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and they are calling for judgment. This is spiritual language clearly pointing to the investigative judgment.
Another important indication that we are dealing prophetically with the anti-typical day of atonement is that John is told,
“But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles” (
Revelation 11:2). In other words, don’t bother, at this time, with judging the gentiles—the
ethnos, the nations—only judge the worshippers in the temple, who symbolize those who at one time in their lives confessed their sins and claimed the merits of their great Sacrifice in atonement for them.
“In the typical service only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the Day of Atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period. ‘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?’ 1 Peter 4:17” GC 480.1
The judgment of the nations, those clearly not saved, will take place during the millennium in heaven. This is the judgment to which Paul is referring in
1 Corinthians 6:2: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world.”
The time for
“measuring the outer court,” judging the nations, will come later, during the millennium when the saints are in heaven with Christ.
So we are seeing in
Revelation 11:1-2 a clear picture of the investigative judgment, and this makes perfect sense given the context. The final verses of Revelation Chapter 10 tell us:
“So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings” (
Revelation 10:10-11).
Revelation 10:10-11 is followed immediately by
Revelation 11:1-2 which is the description of the investigative judgment in the temple in heaven.