Understanding Revelation (11:1)

"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,"

(Revelation 11:1)

The measuring is equivalent to the numbering and sealing of the church. Several indications reinforce this.

 First, John is told, as part of his ministry, to measure three things: “the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.” The measuring rod is similar to the image in Ezekiel 40-48 where the prophet in exile travels with an angel to measure the re-established and re-constituted temple. It will be the source of spiritual life flowing throughout the world, as a mighty river flows from the temple to give life to others. It is a picture of security and triumph in the Lord. John borrows from this prophecy and applies it to the church.

Jerusalem’s temple had already been destroyed by the Roman General Titus in 70 A.D., so there was no temple or altar to measure. The message reinforced throughout the New Testament is that once Christ died and the veil into the Holy of Holies was split from top to bottom, indicating that the way to God was forever opened through Christ, the physical temple had no more usefulness in God’s economy (Hebrews 7-10). Instead, the church had become the temple: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16) The church is “being fitted together…growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22). Peter uses similar language in (1 Peter 2:4-10). The overcomers in Philadelphia, Jesus said would be “a pillar in the temple of My God” (Rev. 3:12). So, “the temple of God” in this passage alludes to the church. Just as the temple in Jerusalem was God’s dwelling place, now, with the completed redemptive work of Christ, the church is His dwelling place.

Third, “the altar” is a repeated term in Revelation. It is associated with the believers in the presence of the Lord who had been killed for their testimony of the gospel, now crying out for God to avenge their blood (6:9). It’s the place where the prayers of the saints are as incense in God’s presence (8:3-5). It emphasizes being in the presence of God (9:13; 14:18; 16:7). “Measuring the altar’s dimensions,” signifies that the saints have access to God and enjoy his protective care. At the altar they are safe. “Those who worship in it” further indicates, the redemptive people of God being marked out or measured by the Lord. How do you measure worshipers but by numbering them as people of God’s care?

Here’s the point that John makes. God knows His own, marks them out carefully, and secures them with His presence. The church is accounted by Him.

(Dr. Phil A. Newton)