God’S Messengers
GOD’S MESSENGERS
REVELATION 11:1-14
Are you willing to be defeated for Jesus’ sake?
No part of Revelation has lent itself more to fanciful interpretations than this one, but we shall ignore them. No description of the measuring is given. It was no doubt performed in vision, for it seems to be a temple on earth, and that in Jerusalem had already been destroyed by Titus. The measuring is no doubt of the same nature as the sealing in 7:3, ie the guaranteeing of God’s care, and the temple is God’s people (see also Ephesians 2:19-22; 2 Corinthians 6:16); once again there is no need to distinguish between the church and the true Israel. There are no grounds for identifying it with the temple of 11:19. “The court outside” (11:2), the court of the Gentiles, represents all that mixed multitude which at most times is associated with the people of God (see Isaiah 1:12). For the “forty-two months” in 11:2, see 11:3; 12:6,14; 13:5; it is the same period as that in Daniel 7:25; 12:7. We need not doubt that there will be a fulfillment in a later day, when the time will be literally fulfilled, but it is also symbolic, for it represents half the great week of God’s purposes, nor may we forget that in Daniel 9:24 we are dealing with a day equaling a year. God can allow his adversaries to have their way so long.
The “two witnesses” (11:3) are linked through 11:4 with Zechariah chapter 4, where they are Zerubbabel and Joshua. Without our ruling out the possibility of literal fulfillment, we should recognize that they speak to us of due leadership in the people of God, who maintain its witness. The triumph of the beast (11:7) links with 13:7, where it is imperative that a wide meaning be found. We should note the short period of the beast’s triumph compared to the length of the witness.
The same movement within a narrower and wider meaning is seen in the description of the city (11:8). While in its narrowest sense it refers to Jerusalem, the description “great city” asks us to look outward. Jerusalem is compared with Sodom in Isaiah 1:9f.; Ezekiel 16:46-56, but never with Egypt. What is true of apostate Jerusalem is true of apostate civilization generally. The disciples understood this (see Acts 4:25-27).