Revelation 11:1-3 ESV
“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, 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. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’”
My Understanding
This was written in the Messianic era, not under the Old
Covenant, so this must be understood in light of the age under Jesus Christ,
the church age, and with the knowledge that the “temple” is no longer a physical
building, but it is a spiritual building, not built with brick and mortar, but
with living stones, i.e., with us as God’s people, and with Jesus as the
cornerstone.
Also, to measure is not always a physical thing, but it can
be a spiritual thing. For, to measure is to evaluate, to assess, and to
determine something. So, this is about evaluating and determining something
about the church, the body of Christ, the temple of God, which is us who
believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives.
The altar of God in this case, too, is our spiritual
relationships with the Lord. It is where we died with Christ to sin and we were
raised with Christ to newness of life in him, and it is where we daily die to
sin and self and where we humbly walk in obedience to our Lord, living holy
lives which are pleasing in his sight. It is where we repent of sin and submit
to Christ as Lord.
For, this is where we worship God, not in a physical temple,
but now in spirit and in truth, for now God dwells within the hearts and lives
of those who believe in him with God-given and divinely persuaded faith in
Jesus Christ. And to worship God is to give our lives to him as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him
(Rom 12:1-2).
We are to be measured, too. We are to have our lives
examined, evaluated, and determinations made as to our walks of faith with the
Lord, with regard to whether or not we are walking in obedience to his commands,
and whether or not we are truly his by genuine faith in him. For, many profess
him, but few follow him in surrender and in obedience to his commands.
The outer court is the world which is filled with the people
of the world who have not surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ and who have
not followed the Lord in obedience of faith, in repentance, and in submission
to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of their lives. They are regarded as the
ungodly, they who have not received Jesus Christ in truth and in practice.
The ungodly of this world, or more specifically the nations
of the world, the governments of this world, those who have authority over the
people of the world will trample us, God’s holy people, for we are now God’s
holy city, his holy nation – we who belong to God through genuine faith in
Jesus Christ. They will reject and they will persecute us because of Christ.
But God will have witnesses who will prophesy and who will
give testimony to him and to his gospel. But regarding the number two, I
believe it to be symbolic of the Old and New Testaments, the prophets, and the
apostles. And it is us who are following him with our lives who are giving
testimony to him and to his gospel in these trying days before our Lord’s
return.
In Practical Application
I believe we are seeing this “trampling” of God’s holy
nation, the people of God who are his through faith in Jesus Christ, and that
we are seeing it take place in our day and time. Christians are under severe
persecution all throughout the world, and we are seeing persecution of those of
genuine faith in Jesus on the rise in America, too.
But we are also seeing a massive propaganda to destroy the
church and the gospel and the witness of the church in our day and age, too.
And this is coming through “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who are teaching an
adulterated gospel message which makes no demands for repentance, obedience, or
submission to Christ as Lord.
And this propaganda has been largely successful as the vast
majority of today’s church, at least here in America, has gone the way of the
world and has embraced this “cheap grace” gospel which permits them to keep
living in their sin while convincing them that they can believe in Jesus and
have their sins forgiven and have heaven secured for them when they die.
On a Political Level
Also, we are seeing much propaganda coming from our political
leaders and from the elite of the world who are the ones truly ruling the world
and the nations of the world overall, and also coming from the news media and
from pastors of churches, too, who are convincing the people of their nations
to worship (follow, believe in) their government leaders without question.
And if you do question those in authority over you, or if you
do question what is being said from the mouths of politicians or from the
mouths of the news media or from some social media memes (sometimes), then you
are tagged as a “conspiracy theorist,” or as stupid, or as a hater, or as
someone who doesn’t care about other people.
But when we get to the point as people in a society where we
cease to question what we are being told is fact, and to where we just accept
the official narrative as truth without examination of what is regarded as fact,
then that is a dangerous place to be, for we are ripe for being deceived.
For, Christians are instructed in God’s word to question
what we hear, see (or believe we see), or read. We are to test the spirits to
see whether or not they are of God. So, it is healthy to question what does not
make sense, and to examine it in light of what we do know, not just about the
subject at hand, but about the people through whom the information is being
shared.
For, when we believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit indwells
us. God, by his Spirit, lives within us giving us wisdom, guidance, and
direction and discernment. And we also have the Scriptures to give us guidance
and direction in godly and holy living.
If we are careful observers, we can see patterns of thought
and behaviors and of manipulative tactics which then cause us to question the
legitimacy of what we are being told. It is perfectly acceptable and healthful
to express concerns when things don’t add up and when we see these patterns of
behavior and of manipulation tactics seemingly being repeated.
And it is wise to use caution and discernment, and for the
Christian to inquire of the Lord and to seek his counsel in these matters, for
there are many liars and deceivers out there. Not everyone tells the truth. Not
everyone has good motives for what they do. Not everyone can be trusted. And it
is good to counsel Christians to not make decisions out of fear but to pray for
wisdom to do what is right.
My Experience
I admit that for many years, although I tested spiritual
matters, I was naïve when it came to what was going on in the world around me.
I stayed away from politics because I thought it was beyond my ability to
understand. I watched the news, but I thought the news was real news, i.e.,
that it was the truth, because it was the news, after all.
But then the Lord, through his Spirit who counsels me,
opened up my eyes and he began to help me to see things I never saw before
about our government, about the news media, and the like. And so I began to
research things I would never have touched before, and I began to learn much
that I would never have imagined before.
Once I began to see our government and our media through a
different lens, and I began to see what was really going on in our country and
in the world, though certainly my knowledge is still somewhat limited, I began
to see patterns of behaviors in how our government does things, and how the
media does, and I began to see the patterns of lies and deceptions, and so I no
longer just believed what they told me, but I began to question things. But I
do so prayerfully, seeking the guidance of God and his wisdom.
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
No comments:
Post a Comment