"And the court which is outside the temple cast out and do not measure it,
"The temple of God." Is this temple heavenly or earthly? It is a heavenly temple because: (1) this book emphasizes the heavenly temple (Rev. 11:19; 16:17), and (2) in the future the temple on the earth will be defiled by idols. How could God protect it and say that it is holy? "The altar." This is the incense altar and not the altar of sacrifice because 11:2 says that the court which is outside the temple is not measured. The altar of sacrifice is in this court. This court is not measured, but the altar is measured. Hence, it is clear that this altar is within the temple, and only the incense altar is within the temple. This is also made clear by the phrase "and those who worship in it," which is mentioned after "the altar." Thus, this is obviously the incense altar. To measure the people who worship in the temple means that God protects only those who are raptured.
2. Revelation 11:2 "And the court which is outside the temple cast out and do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months." "The court which is outside the temple" is the temple on the earth. The heavenly temple is the temple itself. In ancient times, the Jews had a central holy temple. Even though the kings established great high places to worship God, all the other kings who revived the kingdom abolished these great high places. God does not want what man establishes. Even during the transitional period, when the Gentiles were called unto the Lord, the Jews who became Christians still went up to the holy temple to worship God (Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:20). In the Old Testament age, there was one central holy temple. But in the New Testament age, there is no physical sanctuary, for in the New Testament we are to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). It is in the heavenly Holy of Holies that one worships God (Heb. 10:19-22). How did God destroy the temple on the earth in order to make people worship Him in the heavenly temple? The Lord Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice to God. Once He died, the offering of sacrifices stopped (Heb. 10:5-18), and furthermore, a number of years later the Romans destroyed the holy temple. Hence, there is no longer a holy temple on the earth. But here there is a temple on the earth again; thus, it is a return to the Old Testament. Matthew 24:15 refers to "the abomination of desolation...standing in the holy place." The "abomination" refers to an idol. "The holy place" will have idols during the time of the great tribulation (2 Thes. 2:2-4; Rev. 13:14).