Measure the Temple - Rumor notes 67

 Revelation 11

1 A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said, "Rise, and measure God's temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 Leave out the court which is outside of the temple, and don't measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will tread the holy city under foot for forty-two months.

Rise and measure God's temple, and the altar, and those who worship in it

Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall you give to the Levites. The cities shall they have to dwell in; and their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their substance, and for all their animals. The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits round about. You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to: and besides them you shall give forty-two cities. (Numbers 35:2-6)

Behold, the angel who talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said to him, "Run, speak to this young man, saying, 'Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. For I,' says Yahweh, 'will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the midst of her. (Zechariah 2:3-5)

I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place. (Isaiah 28:17)

You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. (Ezekiel 43:10)

We tend to think of measuring as having to do with externals, with adding up sums, evaluating strength by assessment of human resources, advantages, weaponry and other means of overcoming problems or enemies by means of force. Yet what these passages indicate is that the measuring done by heaven is on a very different scale, not a means of assessing how much resources of human power is available to God, for God already has unlimited power and does not need anyone to add to it. What is brought to light here is condition of character, disposition, attitude and internal heart condition. What is indicated here that needs to be recognized as the standard of measure is what we believe and embrace as the true nature of justice, what we imagine righteousness involves and how that affects the way we think, live and relate to others.

Yahweh says to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet." Yahweh will send forth the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth. (Psalms 110:1-3)

What is being evaluated through this process of measuring are conditions of the heart and mind. Measuring the pattern means comparing the original with the copies or images. In the process things like lies and inner things obscured even from ourselves become more evident, like iniquities.

Iniquity is an important word to understand because it involves the twisted ways of perceiving reality we inherited from Adam. This condition is not something to hide but rather to become aware of how much it infects our thinking, our beliefs, our presumptions embedded in tradition, culture, religion. Iniquity affects how we perceive reality and how we imagine God relates to us. Iniquity can seem to be gospel truth strangely enough. Iniquity can hide behind morality and even affects our concept of righteousness. Yet God calls us to be ashamed of our iniquities, meaning that these ideas, beliefs and practices are in fact of no worth (the meaning of shame) in heaven's view and need to be seen for what they really are – counterfeits and lies to be discarded in favor of God's truth.

measure God's temple

Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

What and where is the temple of God? The temple is a place we imagine God as living in. Originally it was called a sanctuary. The word sanctuary is used today to designate a safe place, an area of protection. This resonates with the concept of 6 cities of refuge that were designated by God as a means of preventing human desires for revenge to preempt justice for someone who had killed someone else. These 6 cities were part of 48 cities assigned by God from throughout the land of Israel for the Levites to live in and where they could keep their animals. In that day, livestock was more like what we think of as currency today. This is what we read about in Numbers 35.

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses, that the manslayer who kills any person unwittingly and unawares may flee there: and they shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. If the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unawares, and didn't hate him before. (Joshua 20:2-5)

In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17-18)

This idea of refuge runs like a thread throughout history and Scripture and is part of the revealing of God's heart and God's ways of relating to sinners in the pattern, not only for the sanctuary but in the social arrangement of God's people. These commands regarding the cities of refuge were an important element of that plan and are symbols of how God relates to all of us. But I would like to extend this even further, though it may seem strange at first, for accidental murders are not the only thing needing to be addressed but also places of safety in general. And from the larger perspective, the collective people of God who make up the ultimate city described near the end of this book constitutes the ultimate city of refuge.

They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11:9-10)

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, says Yahweh. (Isaiah 65:25)

The ultimate city of refuge will be a safe place, not only for all who seek refuge from zealous 'justice' vigilantes, but amazingly will be a safe place in which God may find rest, peace, fellowship and joy.

It happened as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. (Luke 10:38-39)

Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God's temple is holy, which you are. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

(2 Corinthians 6:16)

Another angel came and stood over the altar, having a golden censer. Much incense was given to him, that he should add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. (Revelation 8:3)

God's temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord's covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed. (Revelation 11:19)

Like as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord Yahweh. I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and those who disobey against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am Yahweh. (Ezekiel 20:36-38)

For a more in depth exploration of measuring the altar, see the document on the Altar Syndrome.