Revelation 11:1-2; The Court Without the Temple (2)

Revelation 11:1-2 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 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 Solomon had an inner court for the priests and an outer court (1 Kings 6:36; 7:12; 2 Chron. 4:9; Ezek. 10:5; 40:17–47).

1 Kings 6:36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. 

1 Kings 7:12 And the great court round about waswith three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house. 

2 Chronicles 4:9 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. 

Ezekiel 10:5 And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard evento the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. 

Ezekiel 40:17-47 Then brought he me into the outward court, and, lo, there were chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty chambers were upon the pavement. And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward. And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. And the little chambers thereof werethree on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits. After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south: and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits. And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures; And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures. And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it wa sfifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And he brought me to the north gate, and measured it according to these measures; The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. And the posts thereof were toward the utter court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side: and the going up to it had eight steps. And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt offering. And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering. And at the side without, as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice. And within were hooks, an hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect wastoward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect istoward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the LORD to minister unto him. So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house. 

When Herod the Great built the temple, the outer court was divided into three parts: the court of the women, of the Israelites, and of the priests. Beyond the three-part court was the court of the Gentiles. But in Revelation John speaks symbolically of the outer court of the temple and thus refers to those people who are within the outer perimeter of the church but not part of it (1 John 2:19).

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 

These people are part of the world; they have joined arms with the Gentiles bent on destroying the church, if possible. They are those who in John’s day were members of Satan’s synagogue and were indistinguishable from the Gentiles (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). All of them are driven by the spirit of the Antichrist set on trampling and desecrating everything that is holy.

The last part of this verse raises questions concerning place and time. How do we interpret “the Gentiles … will trample the holy city for forty-two months”? Is John alluding to the holy city, namely, Jerusalem, destroyed by the Gentiles in the second half of the first century? Should the period of forty-two months be taken literally?

First, let us study the expression of holy city in the scriptural context. The Old Testament calls Jerusalem the holy city because it was the place God had chosen to dwell with his people (Ps. 48). The Jews in Jerusalem called themselves “citizens of the holy city” (Isa. 48:2) even though they refused to live in truth and righteousness. Daniel spoke prophetically about the holy city (Dan. 9:24), and Nehemiah noted the restoration of Jerusalem when the Jews resettled in the holy city (Neh. 11:1, 18). In the New Testament, however, the appellation occurs at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when the devil tempting Him takes Him to the holy city (Matt. 4:5). When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, some graves were opened and those who were raised appeared in the holy city (Matt. 27:53). These references are to the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. After that period, the term holy city no longer occurs. For God took up residence not in Jerusalem but in the church; at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit filled not the temple or Jerusalem but the apostles and all those who repented and were baptized (Acts 2:1–4, 38–39). This exegesis is confirmed in Revelation where John describes the new Jerusalem as the holy city (21:2, 10; 22:19). He explains that this is “the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (20:9), which Jesus calls “the city of my God” (3:12). The holy city is the spiritual Jerusalem of the saints.

In short, the New Testament shows that earthly Jerusalem lost its claim to be called the holy city when the Holy Spirit changed his dwelling place from Jerusalem to the hearts of God’s people, the saints. They are persons of every nation, tongue, tribe, and people; together they are residents of the holy city, the new Jerusalem. The Christian church is symbolically called the holy city, for in that place God dwells with his covenant people (21:3).

Next, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem forty years before it happened. He said, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24; compare Isa. 5:5; 63:18; and Dan. 8:13). Jesus defines the length of time as “the times of the Gentiles,” while John writes “forty-two months.” The Apocalypse makes this period equal to 1,260 days or “time, times, and a half time,” which is three and a half years (11:3; 12:6, 14). The three and a half years comprise the period of the Maccabean war when the temple was desecrated from June 167 to December 164 B.C. (compare Dan. 7:25; 12:7). Swete offers the following equation: “the duration of the triumph of the Gentiles = the duration of the prophesying of the Two Witnesses = the duration of the Woman’s sojourn in the wilderness.” In short, these periods showing harmony in duration and extent appear to refer to an interval of undetermined length that extends from Jesus’ ascension to his return.¹⁶

Last, some interpreters apply the period of forty-two months to the years immediately preceding the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. But the length of time does not fit the record. The Jewish revolt against Rome began in the late spring of 66 and ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in August–September 70. Also, the trampling of the holy city by the Gentiles began after Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Romans. Placing the forty-two months after September 70) is pointless, for then there is a beginning without an end.

Accordingly, John takes this prophecy of Jesus and applies it not to the earthly Jerusalem but to the church, which is the image of the new Jerusalem. The Gentiles are not non-Jews but rather non-Christians who trample all that is holy and make it profane. The trampling of the holy city refers to a period of persecution that Christians suffer throughout the ages. But remember that God sets the limit for its duration. Indeed, this period spans the time from the ascension to the return of Jesus. I conclude that in Revelation time is an idea presented in summary form that should not be expressed in literal terms of years or even centuries. Chronological time is of fleeting importance in this book, because not time but principle governs the Apocalypse.

 Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Vol. 20, pp. 326–327). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.