Rev 11:2 But the court which is without 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 temple of God.
The altar.
Them that worship therein.
We understand the measuring of a building, right? We can even understand the measuring of an altar, because it's an object. How do we measure the people that are worshipping inside that temple? You can take the measure of a man certainly, we measure each other all the time, don't we? We size each other up to what end? There are various reasons for sizing a person up. A boss may size a potential employee up to note their worthiness of the position being offered. A potential friend might be taking the measure of a person to see if they would make a good friend. We might even take the measure of a stranger trying to understand whether or not we should even make a gesture of a smile at them.
Here, John is told to measure the temple there is an importance to the temple but it's NOT the earthly temple. The heavenly temple is where our Savior went when he rose from earth and He is still there. We through Him are there with Him when we accept Him as our Savior. The measure of our worth is found in Him, in Christ our Lord and Savior.
John is also told this… 'But the court which is without 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'
42 months Rev. 13:5
1260 days Revelation 12: 6.
3 1/2 times in Daniel 7: 25 and 12: 7, and Revelation 12: 14.
This time period is amazingly special and a marked period that God has given to us to realize how amazing prophecy is and how the plan He has is real and NOT to be denied, not to be ignored, not to be taken lightly. We've studied this time period a few times now and we know that it ends in 1798- we know that the little book was opened about the same time and the understanding of people towards these prophecies was begun.
Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
During these 42 months, during the 1260 days there were TWO witnesses that would prophesize only they would be covered in sackcloth.
What does it mean to be covered in sackcloth?
sackcloth [ˈsækˌklɒθ]
n
1. (Clothing, Personal Arts & Crafts / Textiles) coarse cloth such as sacking
2. (Clothing & Fashion) garments made of such cloth, worn formerly to indicate mourning or penitence
sackcloth and ashes a public display of extreme grief, remorse, or repentance
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Worn to indicate mourning or penitence- display extreme grief, remorse, repentance.
For 1260 years the witnesses of God would be down trodden, they would be mourning, and when someone is in mourning, when there is a period of mourning people generally are NOT themselves, they are not alive as they should be in a manner of speaking. They don't shine as they normally would. We can think of mourning people and maybe today a lot of people don't mourn like they used to but mourning people used to be given a lot more respect than they are given today- at least in our country. We've all had a reason to grieve, to mourn in our lives and we know what it means. The depression, the darkness, the feeling of being out of touch with the rest of the world which goes on and on not feeling the pain at all. We want others to understand our pain to know why things aren't alright in our world, why we feel like crying, why we feel as if things will never be good again. When the mourning is over and time is a great healer of emotions, we do begin to look up again and start to live again. This is something that happens over and over in our lives on various levels.
These two witnesses of God would mourn for 1260 years, but then they would live again.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Two olive trees.
Two candlesticks.
All standing before God, the Creator.
The witnesses- trees that produce oil.
The witnesses- candles that produce light.
Oil and light. Representatives of God. How do oil and light associated with the temple represent God?
Exo 25:6 Oil for the light…
Exo 27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
Exo 35:14 The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light
The thing these two items have in common are they both can be used to produce light.
Light in the Bible represents what?
Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psa 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life
Eph 5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts
Psa 18:28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Psa 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Can we honestly believe that God's word could be representative by oil and light, by candlesticks? Jesus had this to say--
Joh 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Joh 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Jesus is the LIGHT of the world! The light of life! Jesus told us we are the light of the world! And what does that mean really? That our light would shine before men and they would see our good works and they would GLORIFY the Father in heaven! We would be witnesses of our faith.
God's word is His witness.
We have God's word, His written word. We have the scriptures- scriptures JESUS referred to and read from and expounded on and we have the words of Jesus. We have TWO sections- an old and a new testament- TWO witnesses to God. Two amazing witnesses! And we KNOW that the word of God was great oppressed for many, many, many years. Even when the printing press was invented and the Bible could go to the mainstream it was still oppressed. The Catholic Church wanted full control over the word of God, they wanted only learned men of their church to have the Bible and give their interpretation to the people. You can study all this on the web, the history of the Bible being oppressed, the interference of the Catholic church it's all proven history. Now WHEN did the Bible begin to be given to people without interference?
'The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world.[1]
The Society was formed on 7 March 1804.[2]'
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The witnesses were in sackcloth! The witnesses were oppressed! The witnesses were covered in darkness for so long. And now… God's word was brought out of mourning and into the light of new life gone out to the world and soon Biblical prophecy was opened to the understanding of the world just as GOD PREDICTED!
This makes sense! Perfect sense!
Do we want to believe this makes sense? Seriously, do we? Or are we looking for fantastical happenings?
The Bible tells us this--
Mat 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark
Eating.
Drinking.
Marrying.
Giving in marriage.
This is a normal every day happenstance around the world. We eat, we drink, we marry, we give in marriage. This is such normalcy and it tells us that when our Savior comes A LOT of people will be going about their every day lives as if nothing is different.
So many people want to believe that they will have some amazing warning, some television movie -like event , some epic special effects that will allow them to prepare, but they will be totally lost just as they were in the days of Noah. There isn't going to be any OBVIOUS sign that will alert people, there will be signs for those who are watching and are looking for Christ's return and are truly His, known by Him. For all those who are waiting for two witnesses- two men of God- as portrayed in the fictional movies they could very well be waiting in vain. How sad it would be, how horribly sad for those who watch for signs that aren't going to come to pass. May God keep our hearts and minds open to His truth and ONLY His truth. May we NOT be deceived as so many will be. Please God help us! Please Lord, please! We want to be ready, we want to be Yours, wholly Yours! All through the grace and mercy of Your Son, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ and HIS righteousness.
Amen.
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