Revelation Chapter 11 Introduction

Chapter 11 is going to be a very informative and interesting chapter to go through.  All previous chapters have been snapshots of what will occur in the last days.  Some of the remaining chapters will be the motion picture of some of the things that will take place during the 7 year tribulation period.

Chapter 11 begins with John being asked to take measurements of the temple of God.  Right now we know that there is not a temple there in Jerusalem, other than the Dome of the Rock, which is a temple of Islam.  The temple that John is being asked to measure is not the Dome of the Rock, but he is being asked to measure the temple of the God of Israel.  So we know that the temple has yet to be built and must be built for this to occur.  Consensus is that this temple could never be built because the old temple sight is where the Dome of the Rock was built.  If Jesus says it will be built, then no man can stop it.

I believe that the contruction will come about when the anti-christ makes the 7 year covenant of peace, spoken of by Daniel in his 9 th Chapter, verse 27;

           "And he (the anti-christ) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week (7 years),
           but in the middle of the week (3 1/2 years into covenant) he will put a stop to sacrifice
           and grain offering; and on the wings of abomonination will come one who makes desolate,
           even until a complete destruction, one that decreed, is poured out on the one who makes
           desolate.

The thing to note from this verse, is that there must be a temple to perform the sacrifices in.  Also this is the Abomination of Desolation that Jesus spoke about, in Matthew Chapter 24, when the apostles ask Him as to what would be the signs of your coming and of the end of the age.  One of the signs that Jesus told them was this in verse 15;

           "Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation which was spoken of through
           Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place..."

Paul also referred to this in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians, when he wrote in the 2nd Chapter, verses 3 and 4;

           " Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord) will not come the
           apostasy (falling away from the faith, probably because of the persecution of the days)
           comes first, and the man of lawlessness (the anti-christ as It) is revealed, the son of
           destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so call god or object of
           worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God"

So we know that the temple has to be built, because the anti-christ, when he becomes (It) half way through the tribulation period, will seat himself in the temple making claims of being God.  We will talk more as to why I call the anti-christ It as we proceed in Revelation.  If you want to know now, then reference my previous blogs concerning Daniel.

So if the temple needs to be built, how is this possible if the Dome of the Rock is on the old sight of the Jewish temple and they will only build it on the original sight.  Revelation Chapter 11 starts out with John writting this in Verses 1 and 2;

            "And there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and some one said, 'Rise and
            measure the temple of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.  And leave out
            the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to
            the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months'."

The temple can be built, because where the Dome of the Rock is located on the mount, is actually where the outer court of the previous Jewish temple was located.  This is why John is instructed not to measure the outer court because it is where the Dome of the Rock is built.  John is told that this outer court is given to the nations.  During this 7 year covenant, the Jews in Israel will worship in their temple, where they will perform sacrifices and grain offerings, for forty-two months, until the anti-christ (It) comes and ends the sacrifices and seats himself in the temple as being God.  When the  anti-christ (It) comes down against Israel, from the north, with troops from many different nations, he will destroy and chase the people of Israel out. This is what is known as, the Time od Jacobs Trouble. At that time he will seat himself in the temple of God, making claims of being God.  Then the troops and others from the nations will tread under foot the holy city for the remainder of time, forty-two months.  When the  anti-christ (It) comes down against Israel from the north with his military, he will be coming down from the world capital that will be built in the city of Tyre, in Lebanon.

The peace of Jesus be with all of you.