REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 11.2
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Eleven:
The
Great Tribulation
(Parenthesis)
The
Seven Temples
Continuing
the study of Seven Temples in Scripture, discussed thus far:
1. The
Tabernacle
The
moveable tent where God dwelt amongst Israel after Sinai
2. Solomon's
Temple
The
first Temple building King Solomon constructed
3. Zerubbabel's
Temple
The
rebuilt Temple after seventy years of captivity
4. Herod's
Temple
Herod
the Great's magnificent expansion of Zerubbabel's Temple
5. Jesus
the Temple (The Chief Cornerstone)
1. The physical Body of a
Believer as a Temple
2. The
community of believers (the Church) as a Temple
3. The cooperate body of believing churches – a Temple
Simply,
these will be the total of all true churches throughout the world whose belief
is in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Descriptive of their
character is the Seven Churches of
Chapters 2 and 3.
The
corporate association of churches will also include the Messianic body of Jewish
believers, Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone:
Ephesians 2:19-21 – Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone;
In Whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an holy Temple in the Lord.
Arriving
at Chapter 11 and Verse 1, John is instructed to measure a Temple called:
6. The
Tribulation Temple
A
peace treaty is signed with Israel and the surrounding neighbors. Antichrist at
this point will permit the construction of the Tribulation Temple in the first
half of Tribulation. In an attempt to keep the Mosaic Covenant, the
Jewish People who adhere to Judaism have long desired and asserted this Temple
be built to reinstitute their traditional practices essential
to Jewish worship.
Many
believe it will co-exist on Mount Moriah alongside Islam's shrine, the Dome of
the Rock. Advertently God is preserving His remnant. But the
reawakening of Messiah's expectation will only provoke Antichrist's hatred and
wrath.
7. The
Millennial Temple
Ezekiel
Chapters 40-48 speak of a future Temple. Although vague, the Millennial Temple
and the eternal state are both in view of having slight modifications.
Its specifications are detailed in Ezekiel Chapters 40:1 through 43:27.
However,
when
the Kingdom Age officially begins, Jesus will thus occupy two offices, that of
Priest and King. Israel shall behold a sanctuary and priesthood in the Kingdom
Age. And the city of Jerusalem will be the capital of the world. Significantly, Jesus will make a grandiose
entrance through the Eastern Gate, and the glory of Jehovah fills this Temple
(cf. Ezekiel 43:5).
Ezekiel 43:4-5 – And the glory of the LORD came into the
house by the way of the gate whose prospect is
toward the east. So the spirit took me
(Ezekiel) up, and brought me into the inner court;
and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled
the house.
Temple
Summary
After
the Great White Throne Judgment, the world will have come full circle. There
will be a new heaven and new earth as revealed in Revelation Chapters 21
through 22. Hence, no Temple exists in the eternal state. Conversely, God will
once again dwell with mankind similar to the Eden experience.
Revelation 21:22 - And I saw no
temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the Temple of it.
(Verse 1)
And there was given me (John) a reed like unto a rod: and the (mighty) angel stood, saying, Rise (stand up), and measure
the Temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Review
Measure the Temple of
God and the altar, and them that worship therein.
In keeping His promise to Israel, God will always
seal and preserve a remnant unto Himself (cf. 1 Kings 19:18: Romans 9:27). John
is instructed to measure out the Temple's parameters by doing
three things with a measuring reed:
1. Measure
the Holy Place (naos) in the Tribulation Temple
As a participant in his vision, the Apostle sets
apart the inner sanctuary of the Holy of Holies. This will be necessary for the
redeemed of Israel to continue the old sacrificial system practice and honor
the Jewish feasts.
2. Measure
the altar in the Tribulation Temple.
The altar, of course, will be the brazen altar
of the inner courtyard where sacrifices will be reinstituted.
3. Measure
those worshipping in the Tribulation Temple
God will distinguish between converted Jews
who are faithful during Tribulation to those who are unredeemed and just
keeping their traditions alive. Understand, this practice only takes place
during the first 3 ½ years of Tribulation; up until the Antichrist (the Abomination of Desolation) sacrifices a
sow and causes its desecration.
(Verse 2)
But the court which
is without (outside) 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.
The court John is told not to measure is
called the Court of the Gentiles situated
outside the surrounding area of the inner courtyard. In New Testament Times
Gentiles were forbidden to enter beyond its walls. So, the Temple proper was
exclusively reserved for God's chosen people.
Temple
Courts
Herod's Temple consisted of a complex
system of walls, levels, gates, steps, chambers, and several courts all converging
upon the Holy of Holies. The index below encapsulates its structure:
1. The
Court of the Gentiles – The lowest outermost area for non-Israelites, sometimes
called the Great Outer Court
a. The
Soreg (the balustrade) – A partition wall to prevent Gentile access into Israel's
worship complex (cf. Numbers 1:51; Ephesians 2:14)
2. The
Court of the Women – Exclusive to women's worship
3. The
Israel Court – For Israelite men under the colonnade
4. The
Court of the Priests – For Priestly
duties
a. The
Altar of Burnt Offering- For sacrifices
b. The
Laver – For cleansing
c. The
(golden) Altar of Incense – Inside the Holy Place where incense burned night
and day symbolizing prayers
d. The
Veil – The Great Curtain of Separation
e. The
Holy of Holies – The highest level is the Inner Sanctuary containing the Ark of
the Covenant (a chest where the tablets
of stone were contained) – Above was God's presence
For it (the
court) is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy
city shall they tread under foot forty and
two months
The Holy City
Several
passages in Scripture substantiate the
holy city is Jerusalem. For example:
Nehemiah 11:18 – All the Levites
in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four
(284).
Isaiah 52:1 – Awake, awake;
put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for
henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the
unclean.
Matthew 27:53 - And came out of
the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
many.
Other
names of the holy city include:
1. Jerusalem,
the City of Peace
2. Zion
(cf. Psalm 2:6)
3. The
Holy Hill (cf. Psalm 2:6)
4. The
City of David (cf. 2 Samuel 5:7)
5. The
City of our God (cf. Psalm 48:1)
6. The
City of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 60:14)
7. The
City of the Living God (cf. Hebrews 12:22)
Shall they tread
under foot [for] forty
and two months
For 1260 days Gentiles will tread down
the inhabitants of Jerusalem as mire in the streets.
Isaiah
10:6 - I (Jehovah) will
send him [in context, the king of Assyria (including his army)] against an
hypocritical nation (a
profane nation of Israel), and against
the people of My wrath will I give him a charge (command), to take the spoil (booty), and to take the prey (plunder), and to tread them
down (trample) like the mire (earth,
clay) of the streets.
From
the time Antichrist desecrates the Temple at mid-tribulation, the holy city of
Jerusalem will be overrun and destroyed by Gentile nations:
Luke 21:24 - And they shall fall by
the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down
of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled.
Forty and two months
Prophetic Overview
(cf. Daniel 7:25; 12:7)
After seventy years of Babylonian captivity,
from the time King of Persia Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) issued the decree to rebuild the Temple in 445 B.C., a 490-year
(70 weeks of years – Daniel's seventy weeks) countdown began. When the Jews
rejected their Messiah, the interim of the unexpected Church Age (inclusive are
the seven Church periods) interrupted the prophecy. Hence, seven years (the
Tribulation) are yet to be fulfilled.
The
commencement of building the Tribulation Temple launches the Tribulation. This
period will complete the remaining week (a heptad; 2520 days) of Daniel's
prophecy. One-half of that is 1260 days (42 months), exactly when the Antichrist
(the Abomination of Desolation) enters the Tribulation Temple and proclaims to
be a god. So, the Tribulation is split in half. And the last forty-two months is
the time frame for the length of terror called the Great Tribulation.
Old Testament Prophecy
Daniel's
prophecy addresses the Temple and Antichrist in specific terms:
Daniel 9:27 - And he (Antichrist) shall confirm the
covenant (a peace treaty) with many for
one week (70th Week of Daniel): and
in the midst (middle) of the week (3 ½ years; 42 months) he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation (offering) [in the Temple] to
cease (stop or end)…
In
the middle of Tribulation, similar to history's Antichocus (Epiphanes) IV*, Antichrist
will enter this rebuilt Temple and proclaim himself as a god. *[December 15, 167 B.C.].
Daniel 11:37 - Neither shall he (Antichrist) regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women,
nor regard any god: for he shall magnify
himself above all.
New Testament Prophecy
Jesus
attests to this Temple:
Matthew 24:15–16 - When ye therefore shall see the Abomination of Desolation
(Antichrist), spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (the Tribulation
Temple), (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then
let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.
Paul's
letter to the Thessalonians also substantiates Daniel's foresight:
2 Thessalonians 2:4 – [Antichrist] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he
(Antichrist) as God sitteth in the [Tribulation]
Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God [emphasis mine].
So
in the middle of the final week of Daniel, Antichrist will initiate the GREAT
TRIBULATION from the Tribulation Temple that John is told to measure out in Verse 1.
Two
witnesses or messengers who have the task of prophesying and preaching
repentance before the final trumpet is sounded are introduced in the following
study.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the purpose of the Tribulation Temple?
2. How long does the Tribulation Period last?
3. Why is John told not to measure the Court of the
Gentiles?
4. Why were Gentiles not allowed to worship in the
Temple?
5. Identify the holy city.
6. Describe the floor plan of the Temple.
7. What causes the Great Tribulation Period?
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