Revelation 11:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 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.
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I read a news story that was meant to shock readers. For me, there was no shock. I laughed. Then I was saddened by the blindness and lostness of those who believe it.
'The chances of you living 50 years are very small': Theoretical physicist explains why humanity likely won't survive to see all the forces unified.
“Live Science” – the name of the publication- spoke with Nobel prize-winning physicist David Gross, who recently received the $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, about the quest to unite all the forces and why humanity might not live to see a unified theory.
“the quest to unite all forces” “humanity might not live to see a unified theory.”
As Christians, we have come to know that there is one force that rules and reigns over the universe and every atom in existence. He, the Living God, created every atom. He created space, time, and matter. This is not a blind faith statement. He has proven it. Only those who either refuse to be honest with themselves or those who are too spiritually blind to see the obvious.
In our Chapter this morning, we will read of an illusion about the Church on earth. We will read how the unbelieving world saw the church one way, but not through the eyes of God. Then we will read of a startled, unbelieving world the unveiling of the power and life of Christ’s Church.
Like the previous chapter, Revelation 11:1-14 is God reminding His Church that He is reigning over all the nations, over all of history, and that He is moving everything forward to the completeness of His Plan of Redemption.
How He does this often does not make sense to our infinite minds. Those who have come to know Him as “all-knowing,” “all-powerful,” and “all-wise” rest in His plan and purposes.
As a child, I didn’t understand all that my dad was doing at his place of employment, but he did. I did not need to know how he did it. My dad needed to know, and he did know.
I don’t need to know why God does what He does. I do need to trust that He knows. And, yes, He knows. Amen!
There are a few different interpretations of Revelation 11:1-2. I am going to use the Bible to interpret itself. Again, the reminder that this is a symbolic picture. The images within the picture have a meaning. We begin by defining the pieces of the puzzle, then put them together to see a message.
We realized early in this study of the Book of Revelation that some biblical images get redefined in Apocalyptic imagery and language. Jesus is a Lamb; Lampstands are not actual lampstands, but represent churches. And so on.
Here is the scene in a nutshell: The Apostle John is given a measuring rod and commanded to measure three things. He is told not to measure a fourth and is given the reason why.
Verse 1: The Invincible Church
Revelation 11:1 (ESV) — 1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there,
John is commanded to measure. The Temple of God; the Altar; and those Who worship there.
Let’s redefine what “measuring” in this picture means.
We think of measure in the sense of determining something’s dimensions. The size or length of the object comes to mind. But here in this symbolic picture, the metaphor of measuring a city has nothing to do with determining its dimensions. It is a symbol of setting a city aside, either for preservation or for destruction.
The prophet Zechariah saw a man measuring Jerusalem, which was symbolizing divine protection (Zech. 2:1–5). The prophet Ezekiel had an elaborate vision of the measuring of Jerusalem—a symbol of the fact that Jerusalem would yet become the true city of God (Ezek. 40:43).
In other places in the Bible (2 Kings 21:13; Isa. 34:11; Lam. 2:8), measuring is a symbolic act indicating destruction rather than preservation. In this vision of Revelation 11:1, the measuring of the temple, its altar in the temple’s inner court, and those who worship there symbolize preservation and protection.
God is pointing out that these three things are to be seen as separated out from the rest of the world. This will make sense when you understand what those three images are. It’s like God saying, I have built a barrier around those. They are Invincible.
He is saying, I have sealed My people. I have separated out My people. I have secured My people … for all eternity. They are my people, and I am their God.
John 10:28–29 (ESV) — 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
John 6:38–40 (ESV) — 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:44 (ESV) — 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:54 (ESV) — 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
The first thing John is to measure is the Temple of God. Your mind would think of a vast building of worship. The place where the Jewish people would go to offer sacrifices and pray. It is where the high priest would enter the holy sanctuary each year to offer a sacrificial lamb for the sins of the nation.
This image of the Temple of God in Revelation 11:1 is not a building. It is the people of God. The Temple of God is not a “what” but a “who.” Here, the Temple is not a WHAT but a WHO.
2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV) — “… 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.”
And
1 Corinthians 3:16 (ESV) — “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
Ephesians 2:20-21 says we are a holy temple in the Lord. In Christ, we are a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit.
As the Apostle Paul preached in Athens, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,” Acts 17:24. Also see 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:14-17.
The Temple of God is not a “what” but us, the Church. Those who have entered the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have bowed their hearts to trust Jesus Christ to be made new, to be born again as a child of God, to have the Spirit of God come and live in you, and to be joined and united in Spirit to all other believers. That is WHO the Temple of God is.
It is a good time for me to stop and ask you, Are you a part of the Temple of God? Are you a believer in God, maybe in Christianity, but have you humbled yourself before Jesus Christ? Have you asked Him to cleanse you of your passive, noncommittal view of Christ? Have you pursued Christ to ensure that you are a member of His kingdom and not your kingdom?
The second image that John is to measure is the Altar. When you think of an “Altar,” think of where the altar is located. It is in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. The altar is known as the place where priests present their offerings to God. It is the place of worship. It is the place of meeting with God. It is where the true church is found--in the inner court, inner sanctuary, worshiping God in His presence.
The third image that John is to measure is who is worshiping at the altar. Jesus gives us help in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, John 4:23-24.
John 4:23–24 (ESV) — But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
It is as if God is saying to the Apostle John, “Look and carefully notice that My Temple, My worshipers seek Me and worship Me with their hearts, and they worship Me in truth. They come to Me in faith at the Altar of the Cross where they have been made My beloved children by the sacrifice of the Son.
“My true worshippers have sincere and authentic hearts seeking me. Not to get anything from me. Not to be religious on the outside. Their hearts are seeking the truth about Me. They are seeking to know Me, the true God, as I have revealed Myself in My Word and by My Spirit.
“John, look carefully and notice that My People, My Temple, are sincerely worshiping Me in spirit and in truth.”
The Altar. Within the Temple, the Church of Jesus Christ, is where true worshippers worship the one true God.
It is this church, the Temple of God, that, later in Revelation 11, will be persecuted and appear defeated and conquered. They lay down their lives for Jesus and refuse to be marked as devotees to the impostor.
We move to verse 2 and see the vulnerable Church. This verse tells us what John is not to measure. He is not to measure “the court outside the temple; leave that out.” John is given the reason he’s not to measure the court outside the sanctuary building.
“it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months”.
Remember, this measuring is about divine protection. So, this is a type of non-protection. Here we have the Outer Court of the Temple. This is a picture of non-covenant people mixing with God’s covenant people. Some scholars say this “court” represents “false Christians”, meaning lip-service Christians. I do not hold to that because the non-protected are called the “holy City.” The book of Revelation refers to the people of God as the Holy City. The holy city is not a place but a people. More on this later in our study. See Revelation 21:1–4.
I see the difference between Verse 1 and Verse 2 as: God has promised to seal us spiritually—protecting our relationship with Him for eternity, but He does not promise protection from those who hate Jesus and hate us for following Jesus. Jesus said they would hate us, throw some in prison, murder some, and war against us. God is not promising to keep us from such harm on this earth.
Even so, we need to be Vulnerable. A biblical example of this is the deacon, Stephen, Acts 7 and 8. Stephen was vulnerable and yet he knew he was invincible in the hand of Jesus. His soul belonged to Jesus. Many of you have been vulnerable. You’ve put yourself out there to help someone in need and were hurt. That will happen. But you should not withdraw from being Vulnerable.
What are some Traits of Vulnerability? Being humble and authentic. Recently, in a conversation with a friend, we talked about how we project who we are onto others. We all are aware of how dogs and other animals can sense who the real you is. There is a level of this in us too. My friend had been reading about this subject and said that the most powerful vibe (we’ll call it) a person can project is not love or hate or fear. It is Authenticity. I believe that people are capable of recognizing genuineness.
Other traits of vulnerability are transparency, willingness to put yourself out there—take a risk, and genuine unselfishness. You see, vulnerability shows others that our faith in Christ Jesus is sincere, sacred, and safe. Which means, we are spiritually Invincible. And if invincible, then we can be vulnerable.
In summary, the invincible Church that is spiritually sealed for the Day of Redemption is also vulnerable to the persecution of the nations, the government powers, and the society that reject Jesus Christ. Romans 8:35-39 describes this invincible vulnerability of the church.
Romans 8:35–39 (ESV) — 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are to be Invincible and Vulnerable at the same time in a broken world to broken people. The broken in this world need to know there is more than hopelessness.
How can we live “Being Invincible and Be Vulnerable”? I have three ways. One, we should not be afraid to be vulnerable. We should not hide who we are, and that we have the answer to the broken soul. If we are not willing to live out our faith in this world around us, then how will others see that there is something beyond this hopeless world?
Second, I think unbelievers need to see that we go through much of the same stuff in this life as they do. The difference is that our faith shapes our reaction to “This stuff.” Our faith makes how we walk through the valleys of life different. We have hope. We have a God who is with us.
Third, knowing we are Invincible, I challenge each of you to intentionally seek ways to share the Gospel beyond this church building. You may have thoughts like, “I have no clue how to do that.” “I don’t know how to do that.” This does not need to be done alone. You have fellow believers to do this with. Be creative and think of the ways that we, MCBC, are making ways to share your faith and join in on them.
Be willing to be vulnerable. You are secure in Christ for all eternity. We are Invincible. Let’s be Vulnerable. At the same time. In a broken world with broken people who need a Savior, who need hope, who need love, who need a helping hand, let’s make our faith real and alive.
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