But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.
2. the court which is without the temple ] The words might be translated “the outer court of the Temple.” It must be remembered that “the courts of the Lord’s House” were the ordinary place for the worshippers to assemble, even before the outer and larger “Court of the Gentiles,” with its magnificent colonnades, was added to Herod’s Temple. Probably the latter is thought of, in its assignment to the Gentiles: but the meaning appears to be, that all the courts shall be profaned, up to the walls of the inmost Sanctuary.
leave out ] Hardly a strong enough expression: the original is, “cast out outside.” The sense must be, “leave out for profanation.” This excludes the hypothesis (otherwise not without plausibility) that the measurement of the Temple is for destruction, not for preservation: see 2Ki 21:13; Lam 2:8: and for the destruction being regarded as the work of the prophet, cf. Eze 43:3.
tread under foot ] So St Luk 21:24, which is no doubt referred to. Hitherto, the correspondences in this book with that Prophecy of our Lord’s have been closest with St Matthew’s version of it. Varying parallels like these serve to authenticate the reports of His words in the different Gospels shewing that they are to be taken as mutually supplementary, not as more or less inaccurate. Of course, St John did not use our Gospels (though St Matthew’s at least was in existence), but wrote independently from his own recollection.
forty and two months ] So Rev 13:5. This period is apparently identical with the “1260 days” of the next verse, and Rev 12:6: and with the “time, times, and half a time” (i.e. 3 years) of Rev 12:14. In Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7 we have this last measure of the period given, and the time indicated by Daniel must be either identical with or typical of that indicated by St John. It is to be noted, that in Dan 12:11-12, we have the period extended to 1290 and 1335 days.
The key to these prophecies, that speak of definite periods of time, is generally sought in Eze 4:6; it is supposed that each prophetical “day” stands for a year, and by consequence a “week” is equivalent to seven years, a “month” to 30, and a “year” to 360. This gives an approximately satisfactory explanation of the one prophecy of the “70 weeks” in Daniel 9: they would naturally be understood to extend from b.c. 536 (the decree of Cyrus) to b.c. 5 (the Nativity), a.d. 29 30 (the Crucifixion), and a.d. 70 (the fall of Jerusalem); but the terms in which their beginning and end are described can with a little pressure be applied to b.c. 457 (the decree of Artaxerxes), a.d. 26 (the Baptism of St John), a.d. 29 30, and a.d. 33 possibly the date of the death of St Stephen, and so of the final rejection of the Gospel by the Jews and of the Jewish sacrifices by God. But in no other case has a prophecy been even tolerably interpreted on this principle. If it were admitted in this, we should naturally understand that Jerusalem was to have been restored in a.d. 1330 or at latest 1360 or 1405. Indeed, if the Saracen conquest instead of the Roman were taken as the starting-point, the restoration would not fall due till 1897, and it is humanly speaking quite possible that Palestine may pass into new hands then. But men ought to have learnt by this time to distrust such calculations: as we “know not the day nor the hour,” so we know not the year nor the century. Two or three generations ago a number of independent calculations were made to converge to the year 1866 as the beginning of the end: but in that year nothing considerable happened except the Austrian war, which of all recent wars perhaps had least the character of a war between Christ and Antichrist. It was at worst an instance of the painful and not innocent way in which fallen human nature works out its best desires: the Austrians were technically in the right, while the victory of the Prussians has proved honourable and beneficial to both empires alike.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But the court which is without the temple – Which is outside of the temple proper, and, therefore, which does not strictly pertain to it. There is undoubtedly reference here to the court of the Gentiles, as it was called among the Jews – the outer court of the temple to which the Gentiles had access, and within which they were not permitted to go. For a description of this, see the notes on Mat 21:12. To an observer this would seem to be a part of the temple, and the persons there assembled a portion of the true worshippers of God; but it was necessarily neither the one nor the other. In forming an estimate of those who, according to the Hebrew notions, were true worshippers of God, only those would be regarded as such who had the privilege of access to the inner court, and to the altar. In making such an estimate, therefore, those who had no nearer access than that court, would be omitted; that is, they would not be reckoned as necessarily any part of those who were regarded as the people of God.
Leave out, and measure it not – Margin, cast out. So the Greek. The meaning is, that he was not to reckon it as pertaining to the true temple of worshippers. There is, indeed, a degree of force in the words rendered leave out, or, in the margin, cast out – ekbale exo – which implies more than a mere passing by, or omission. The word ( ekballo) usually has the idea of force or impluse (Mat 8:12; Mat 15:17; Mat 25:30; Mar 16:9; Act 27:38, et al.); and the word here would denote some decisive or positive act by which it would be indicated that this was not any part of the true temple, but was to be regarded as pertaining to something else. He was not merely not to mention it, or not to include it in the measurement, but he was to do this by some act which would indicate that it was the result of design in the case, and not by accidentally passing it by.
For it is given unto the Gentiles – It properly pertains to them as their own. Though near the temple, and included in the general range of building, yet it does not pertain to those who worship there, but to those who are regarded as pagan and strangers. It is not said that it was then given to the Gentiles; nor is it said that it was given to them to be overrun and trodden down by them, but that it pertained to them, and was to be regarded as belonging to them. They occupied it, not as the people of God, but as those who were without the true church, and who did not pertain to its real communion. This would find a fulfillment if there should arise a state of things in the church in which it would be necessary to draw a line between those who properly constituted the church and those who did not; if there should be such a condition of things that any considerable portion of those who professedly pertained to the church ought to be divided off as not belonging to it, or would have such characteristic marks that it could be seen that they were strangers and aliens. The interpretation would demand that they should sustain some relation to the church, or that they would seem to belong to it – as the court did to the temple; but still that this was in appearance only, and that in estimating the true church it was necessary to leave them out altogether. Of course this would not imply that there might not be some sincere worshippers among them as individuals – as there would be found usually, in the court of the Gentiles in the literal temple, some who were proselytes and devout worshippers, but what is here said relates to them as a mass or body that they did not belong to the true church, but to the Gentiles.
And the holy city – The whole holy city – not merely the outer court of the Gentiles, which it is said was given to them, nor the temple as such, but the entire holy city. There is no doubt that the words the holy city literally refer to Jerusalem – a city so called because it was the special place of the worship of God. See the notes on Mat 4:5; compare Neh 11:1, Neh 11:18; Isa 52:1; Dan 9:24; Mat 27:53. But it is not necessary to suppose that this is its meaning here. The holy city, Jerusalem, was regarded as sacred to God – as his dwelling-place on earth, and as the abode of his people, and nothing was more natural than to use the term as representing the church. Compare the Gal 4:26 note; Heb 12:22 note. In this sense it is undoubtedly used here as the whole representation is emblematical. John, if he were about to speak of anything that was to occur to the church, would, as a native Jew, be likely to employ such language as this to denote it.
Shall they tread under foot – That is, the Gentiles above referred to; or those who, in the measurement of the city, were set off as Gentiles, and regarded as not belonging to the people of God. This is not spoken of the Gentiles in general, but only of that portion of the multitudes that seemed to constitute the worshippers of God, who, in measuring the temple, were set off or separated as not properly belonging to the true church. The phrase should tread under foot is derived from warriors and conquerors, who tread down their enemies, or trample on the fields of grain. It is rendered in this passage by Dr. Robinson (Lexicon), to profane and lay waste. As applied literally to a city, this would be the true idea; as applied to the church, it would mean that they would have it under their control or in subjection for the specified time, and that the practical effect of that would be to corrupt and prostrate it.
Forty and two months – Literally, this would be three years and a half; but if the time here is prophetic time – a day for a year – then the period would be twelve hundred and sixty years – reckoning the year at 360 days. For a full illustration of this usage, and for the reasons for supposing that this is prophetic time, see the notes on Dan 7:25. See also Editors Preface, p. 25: In addition to what is there said, it may be remarked, in reference to this passage, that it is impossible to show, with any degree of probability, that the city of Jerusalem was trampled under foot by the Romans for the exact space of three years and a half. Prof. Stuart, who adopts the opinion that it refers to the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans, says, indeed, It is certain that the invasion of the Romans lasted just about the length of the period named, until Jerusalem was taken. And although the city itself was not besieged so long, yet the metropolis in this case, as in innumerable others in both Testaments, appears to stand for the country of Judaea. But it is to be remembered that the affirmation here is, that the holy city was thus to be trodden under foot; and even taking the former supposition, in what sense is it true that the whole country was trodden under foot by the Romans only three years and a half?
Even the wars of the Romans were not of that exact duration; and, besides, the fact was that Judaea was held in subjection, and trodden down by the Romans for centuries, and never, in fact, regained its independence. If this is to be literally applied to Jerusalem, it has been trodden down by the Gentiles, with brief intervals, since the conquest by the Romans, to the present time. There has been no precise period of three years and a half, in respect to which the language used here would be applicable to the literal city of Jerusalem. In regard, then, to the proper application of the language which has thus been explained Rev 11:1-2, it may be remarked, in general, that, for the reasons just stated, it is not to be taken literally. John could not have been directed literally to measure the temple at Jerusalem, and the altar, and the worshippers; nor could he have been requested literally to leave out, or cast out the court that was without; nor could it be meant that the holy city literally was to be trodden under foot for three years and a half. The language clearly is symbolical, and the reference must have been to something pertaining to the church. And, if the preceding exposition of the tenth chapter is correct, then it may be presumed that this would refer to something that was to occur at about the period there referred to. Regarding it, then, as applicable to the time of the Reformation, and as being a continuation of the vision in Rev 10:1-11, we shall find, in the events of that period, what would be properly symbolized by the language used here. This will appear by reviewing the particulars which have been explained in these verses:
(1) The command to measure the temple of God, Rev 11:1. This, we have seen, was a direction to take an estimate of what constituted the true church; the very work which it was necessary to do in the Reformation, for this was the first point which was to be settled, whether the papacy was the true church or was the antichrist. This involved, of course, the whole inquiry as to what constitutes the church, alike in reference to its organization, its ministry, its sacraments, and its membership. It was long before the Reformers made up their minds that the papacy was not the true church; for the veneration which they had been taught to cherish for that lingered long in their bosoms. And even when they were constrained to admit that that corrupt communion was the predicted form of the great apostasy – antichrist – and had acquired boldness enough to break away from it forever, it was long before they settled down in a uniform belief as to what was essential to the true church. Indeed, the differences of opinion which prevailed, the warm discussions which ensued, and the diversities of sect which sprang up in the Protestant world, showed with what intense interest the mind was fixed on this question, and how important it was to take an exact measurement of the real church of God.
(2) The direction to measure the altar. This, as we have seen, would relate to the prevailing opinions on the subject of sacrifice and atonement; on the true method of a sinners acceptance with God; and, consequently, on the whole subject of justification. As a matter of fact, it need not be said that this was one of the first questions which came before the Reformers, and was one which it was indispensable to settle, in order to a just notion of the church and of the way of salvation. The papacy had exalted the Lords supper into a real sacrifice; had made it a grand and essential point that the bread and wine were changed into the real body and blood of the Lord, and that a real offering of that sacrifice was made every time that ordinance was celebrated; had changed the office of the ministers of the New Testament from preachers to that of priests; had become familiar with the terms altar, and sacrifice, and priest hood, as founded on the notion that a real sacrifice was made in the mass; and had fundamentally changed the whole doctrine respecting the justification of a sinner before God. The altar in the Roman Catholic communion had almost displaced the pulpit; and the doctrine of justification by the merits of the great sacrifice made by the death of our Lord, had been superseded by the doctrine of justification by good works, and by the merits of the saints. It became necessary, therefore, to restore the true doctrine respecting sacrifice for sin, and the way of justification before God; and this would be appropriately represented by a direction to measure the altar.
(3) The direction to take an estimate of those who worshipped in the temple. This, as we have seen, would properly mean that there was to be a true estimate taken of what constituted membership in the church, or of the qualifications of those who should be regarded as true worshippers of God. This, also, was one of the first works necessary to be done in the Reformation. Before that, for ages, the doctrine of baptismal regeneration had been the established doctrine of the church; that all that was necessary to membership was baptism and confirmation, was the common opinion; the necessity of regeneration by the influences of the Holy Spirit, as a condition of church membership, was little understood, if not almost wholly unknown; and the grand requisition in membership was not holy living, but the observance of the rites and ceremonies of the church. One of the first things necessary in the Reformation was to restore to its true place the doctrine laid down by the Saviour, that a change of heart that regeneration by the Holy Spirit – was necessary to membership in the church, and that the true church was composed of those who had been thus renewed in the spirit of their mind. This great work would be appropriately symbolized by a direction to take an estimate of those who worshipped in the temple of God; that is, to settle the question who should be regarded as true worshippers of God, and what should be required of those who professed to be such worshippers. No more important point was settled in the Reformation than this.
(4) The direction to leave out, or to cast out the court without the temple. This, as we have seen, would properly mean that a separation was to be made between what was the true church and what was not, though it might seem to belong to it. The one was to be measured or estimated; the other was to be left out, as not pertaining to that, or as belonging to the Gentiles, or to paganism. The idea would be, that though it; professedly pertained to the true church, and to the worship of God, yet that it deserved to be characterized as paganism. Now this will apply with great propriety, according to all Protestant notions, to the manner in which the papacy was regarded by the Reformers, and should be regarded at all times. It claimed to be the true church, and to the eye of an observer would seem to belong to it, as much as the outer court seemed to pertain to the temple. But it had the essential characteristics of paganism, and was, therefore, properly to be left out, or, cast out, as not pertaining to the true church.
Can anyone doubt the truth of this representation as applicable to the papacy? Almost everything that was unique in the ancient pagan systems of religion had been introduced into the Roman communion; and a stranger at Rome would see more that would lead him to feel that he was in a pagan land, than he would that he was in a land where the pure doctrines of Christianity prevailed, and where the worship was celebrated which the Redeemer hack designed to set up on the earth. This was true not only in the pomp and splendor of worship, and in the processions and imposing ceremonials; but in the worship of images, in the homage rendered to the dead, in the number of festival days, in the fact that the statues reared in pagan Rome to the honor of the gods had been reconsecrated in the service of Christian devotion to the apostles, saints, and martyrs; and in the robes of the Christian priesthood, derived from those in use in the ancient pagan worship. The direction was, that, in estimating the true church, this was to be left out, or cast out; and, if this interpretation is correct, the meaning is, that the Roman Catholic communion, as an organized body, is to be regarded as no part of the true church – a conclusion which is inevitable, if the passages of Scripture which are commonly supposed by Protestants to apply to it are correctly applied. To determine this, and to separate the true church from it, was no small part of the work of the Reformation.
(5) The statement that the holy city was to be trodden under foot, Rev 11:2. This, as we have seen, must mean that the true church would thus be trodden down by those who are described as Gentiles. So far as pure religion was concerned; so far as pertained to the real condition of the church, and the pure worship of God, it would be as if the whole holy city where God was worshipped were given into the hands of the Gentiles, and they should tread it down, and desecrate all that was sacred for the time here referred to. Everything in Rome at the time of the Reformation would sustain this description. It is incredible, says Luther, on his visit to Rome, what sins and atrocities are committed in Rome; they must be seen and heard to be believed. So that it is usual to say: If there be a hell, Rome is built above it; it is an abyss from which all sins proceed. So again he says: It is commonly observed that he who goes to Rome for the first time, goes to seek a knave there; the second time he finds him; and the third time he brings him away with him under his cloak. But now, people are become so clever, that they make the three journeys in one.
So Machiavelli, one of the most profound geniuses in Italy, and himself a Roman Catholic, said, The greatest symptom of the approaching ruin of Christianity is, that the nearer we approach the capital of Christendom, the less do we find of the Christian spirit of the people. The scandalous example and crimes of the court of Rome have caused Italy to lose every principle of piety and every religious sentiment. We Italians are principally indebted to the church and to the priests for having become impious and profane. See DAubignes History of the Reformation, p. 54, ed. Phila. 1843. In full illustration of the sentiment that the church seemed to be trodden down and polluted by paganism, or by abominations and practices that came out of paganism, we may refer to the general history of the Roman Catholic communion from the rise of the papacy to the Reformation. For a sufficient illustration to justify the application of the passage before us which I am now making, the reader may be referred to the notes on Rev 9:20-21. Nothing would better describe the condition of Rome previous to and at the time of the Reformation – and the remark may be applied to subsequent periods also – than to say that it was a city which once seemed to be a Christian city, and was not improperly regarded as the center of the Christian world and the seat of the church, and that it had been, as it were, overrun and trodden down by pagan rites and customs and ceremonies, so that, to a stranger looking on it, it would seem to be in the possession of the Gentiles or the pagans.
(6) The time during which this was to continue – forty-two months; that is, according to the explanation above given, twelve hundred and sixty years. This would embrace the whole period of the ascendency and prevalence of the papacy, or the whole time of the continuance of that corrupt domination in which Christendom was to be trodden down and corrupted by it. The prophet of Patmos saw it in vision thus extending its dreary and corrupting reign, and during that time the proper influence of Christianity was trampled down, and the domination of practical paganism was set up where the church should have reigned in its purity. Thus regarded, this would properly express the time of the ascendency of the papal power, and the end of the forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty years, would denote the time when the influence of that power would cease. If, therefore, the time of the rise of the papacy can be determined, it will not be difficult to determine the time when it will come to an end. But for a full consideration of these points the reader is referred to the extended discussion on Dan 7:25. See also Editors Preface, p. 25. As the point is there fully examined it is unnecessary to go into an investigation of it here.
The general remark, therefore, in regard to this passage Rev 11:1-2 is, that it refers to what would be necessary to be done at the Reformation in order to determine what is the true church and what are the doctrines on which it is based; and to the fact that the Roman Catholic communion, to which the church had been given over for a definite time, was to be set aside as not being the true church of Christ.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. But the court-is given unto the Gentiles] The measuring of the temple probably refers to its approaching destruction, and the termination of the whole Levitical service; and this we find was to be done by the Gentiles, (Romans,) who were to tread it down forty-two months; i.e., just three years and a half, or twelve hundred and sixty days. This must be a symbolical period.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There is no great doubt, but the same persons are here to be understood by
the court which is without the temple, ( that is, without the inward court),
and the holy city; and by them, both the generality of those people who come under the name of the Christian church, who are all of them, in some sense, a holy people, 1Co 7:14, as all the Jews were; yet, for the greatest part of them, John is commanded to omit, or neglect them, as those who would not endure a measure by the reed, and of whose preservation God would take no such care, but give them up to the Gentiles, to be trodden under foot; by which many learned and good men understand Gods suffering antichrist to have a power over and against them. I find some understanding by the altar, and them that worship therein, the primitive church, that for some hundreds of years after Christ kept close to the Divine rule, whom God preserved, though in the midst of the ten first persecutions: and by the outward court, the church after that time, which God suffered to fall under the power of the beast, and antichrist, that is, the papacy; which are well enough called
the Gentiles, as bringing in Gentilism again into the church, and hardly differing in any thing, saving that the old heathens owned many supreme gods, and these new Gentiles but one. God showeth John here, that he would give up the outward court, or this holy city, the generality of Christians, to these Gentiles, that they should rule and domineer over them for
forty and two months, the meaning of which we shall by and by show. A late pious and learned writer differs a little in his sense, as thinking that God here showeth John something further, viz. that under the sixth trumpet he would give the generality of those called Christians, that will not endure the measure of the reed, so over to antichrist, that they shall turn papists, and help to kill the Lords witnesses; of which we shall speak, Rev 11:3. So as this is not a new prophecy, but a continuation of what shall happen after the sounding of the sixth, and before the sounding of the seventh trumpet: if so, I conceive that those words,
shall they tread under foot forty and two months, must be understood, until the end of the forty-two months; for the forty-two months being the whole time of antichrist, or the beast, must be in a great measure spent before the sounding of the sixth angel. But it seems to be the opinion of this learned man, that a very great part of those who pretend to constitute the Reformed protestant church at this day, but are but as the outward court, not such as worship within the oracle, shall, before the sounding of the seventh trumpet, apostatize, and fall off to popery, until antichrists one thousand two hundred and sixty days shall expire, and join with papists in the killing of the witnesses. The truth of which we must leave to the providence of God in time to discover; although whoso considereth the face of things this day in Europe, (within which the greatest part of the Christian church is), will judge there is too great a probability of what this learned man saith; but I dare determine nothing in it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. ButGreek, “And.”
the court . . . withoutalloutside the Holy Place (Re11:1).
leave outof thymeasurement, literally, “cast out”; reckon as unhallowed.
itemphatic. Itis not to be measured; whereas the Holy Place is.
givenby God’sappointment.
unto the GentilesInthe wider sense, there are meant here “the times of theGentiles,” wherein Jerusalem is “trodden down of theGentiles,” as the parallel, Lu21:24, proves; for the same word is used here [Greek,“patein“], “tread under foot.” Comparealso Psa 79:1; Isa 63:18.
forty . . . two months(Re 13:5). The same period asDaniel’s “time, times, and half” (Re12:14); and Rev 11:3; Rev 12:6,the woman a fugitive in the wilderness “a thousand two hundredand threescore days.” In the wider sense, we may either adoptthe year-day theory of 1260 years (on which, and the papal rule of1260 years, see on Da 7:25; Da8:14; Da 12:11), or rather,regard the 2300 days (Da 8:14),1335 days (Dan 12:11; Dan 12:12).1290 days, and 1260 days, as symbolical of the long period of theGentile times, whether dating from the subversion of the Jewishtheocracy at the Babylonian captivity (the kingdom having beennever since restored to Israel), or from the last destruction ofJerusalem under Titus, and extending to the restoration of thetheocracy at the coming of Him “whose right it is”; thedifferent epochs marked by the 2300, 1335, 1290, and 1260 days, willnot be fully cleared up till the grand consummation; but, meanwhile,our duty and privilege urge us to investigate them. Some one of theepochs assigned by many may be right but as yet it is uncertain. Thetimes of the Gentile monarchies during Israel’s seven timespunishment, will probably, in the narrower sense (Re11:2), be succeeded by the much more restricted times of thepersonal Antichrist’s tyranny in the Holy Land. The long years ofpapal misrule may be followed by the short time of the man of sin whoshall concentrate in himself all the apostasy, persecution, and evilof the various forerunning Antichrists, Antiochus, Mohammed, Popery,just before Christ’s advent. His time shall be THERECAPITULATION and open consummation of the “mystery ofiniquity” so long leavening the world. Witnessing churches maybe followed by witnessing individuals, the former occupying thelonger, the latter, the shorter period. The three and a half(1260 days being three and a half years of three hundred sixty dayseach, during which the two witnesses prophesy in sackcloth) is thesacred number seven halved, implying the Antichristianworld-power’s time is broken at best; it answers to the three anda half years’ period in which Christ witnessed for the truth, andthe Jews, His own people, disowned Him, and the God-opposed worldpower crucified Him (compare Note, see on Da9:27). The three and a half, in a word, marks the time in whichthe earthly rules over the heavenly kingdom. It was the duration ofAntiochus’ treading down of the temple and persecution of faithfulIsraelites. The resurrection of the witnesses after three and a halfdays, answers to Christ’s resurrection after three days. The worldpower’s times never reach the sacred fulness of seven times threehundred sixty, that is, 2520, though they approach to it in 2300 (Da8:14). The forty-two months answer to Israel’s forty-twosojournings (Nu 33:1-50)in the wilderness, as contrasted with the sabbatic rest in Canaan:reminding the Church that here, in the world wilderness, she cannotlook for her sabbatic rest. Also, three and a half years was theperiod of the heaven being shut up, and of consequent famine, inElias’ time. Thus, three and a half represented to the Church theidea of toil, pilgrimage, and persecution.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not,…. The allusion is to the court of the Israelites, where was the great crowd and company of worshippers, even the national church of the Jews, called by Ezekiel the outer court, Eze 42:14, and which was measured in Eze 42:20; but this must not be measured: this designs not the visible church apostatized, as succeeding the pure, primitive, and apostolical church, or the apostate church of Rome, antichrist and his followers, for these are meant by the Gentiles, to whom this outward court is given; this outward court, or the worshippers in it, intend a distinct set of worshippers from the internal worshippers, the priests of God in the temple, altar, and inner court, and from the Gentiles, the Papists; and are no other than carnal Protestants, the bulk of the reformed churches, who have only the name, but not the nature of living Christians, have a form of godliness, but deny its power, are Jews outwardly, but not inwardly, and worship only in an external manner, attend to outward forms and ceremonies, but know nothing of true doctrine, pure worship, or spiritual religion; and which are very numerous, as the worshippers in the outward court were: now these, upon a new measuring and regulating of the churches, are ordered to be left, or cast out, and not taken into the dimensions of the Gospel church; these were to be separated from, and have been, and not to be admitted members of regular and orderly constituted churches, and which is here reckoned a sort of casting of them out; the reason of which follows;
for it is given unto the Gentiles; by whom are meant the Papists, who are no other than Paganized Christians, having introduced a great deal of Gentilism into the divine service; as the worshipping of the virgin Mary, angels, and saints departed, which is in imitation of the demon worship of the Heathens; as also the dedication of their churches to saints, their saints’ days, divers festivals, and many other rites and ceremonies, are plainly of Pagan original; and therefore they may very well be called by this name: now it seems by these words that the bulk of the reformed churches, the crowd of outward court worshippers, will be gained, over to the Popish party, and fall off to the church of Rome, to which their doctrines and practices are plainly verging; the pope of Rome, as low a condition as he now is in, will be set “in status quo”, before his utter destruction; he will regain all his former dominions, and be in possession of them at the time of his ruin; the whore of Rome, the antichristian Babylon, will sit as a queen, and promise herself a great deal of peace and pleasure, the inward court worshippers and witnesses being slain, and she restored to all her former power and grandeur; when in one day, on a sudden, her destruction will come upon her, when the term of the beast’s reign will be expired, mentioned in the next clause:
and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months; by “the holy city” is meant all the kingdoms of Europe, or what has, been called Christendom, the western empire as Christian, the main seat of the Christian religion, or all the churches styled Christian, and so called in allusion to Jerusalem, which bears this name, Mt 4:5; and which was still of a far larger extent than the outward court: the “treading” of this “underfoot” does not barely design possessing of it, or worshipping in the same place, as the phrase of treading in the courts does in Isa 1:12; but a tyrannical power over it, and a wasting, spoiling, and destroying it, in allusion to Jerusalem being trodden under foot, wasted, and destroyed by the Gentiles or the Romans, Lu 21:24; and the duration of this tyrannical and oppressive reign will be forty and two months; see Re 13:5, which being reduced to years, make just three years and a half: but then this date cannot be understood strictly and literally; for such a term can never be sufficient for the whore’s reign, who was to rule over the kings of the earth, and all nations were to drink of the wine of her fornication: this is too short a time for her to gain so much power, honour, and riches in, as the 13th, 17th, and 18th chapters of this book show, as well as too short for the afflictions and persecutions of the saints by her; wherefore this must be understood prophetically of so many months of years; and a month with the Chaldeans consisting of thirty days, and a year of 360 days, which account Daniel used, and John after him, forty two months, reckoning a day for a year, after the prophetic style, make 1260 years; which is the exact time of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, of the church’s being hid and nourished in the wilderness, and of the beast’s reign, and so of the holy city being trodden under foot. Now this date is not to be reckoned from the outer court being given to the Gentiles, but from the first of antichrist’s reign, when the pope of Rome was declared universal bishop; and is only here mentioned to show, that the giving of the outward court to his Gentiles will be towards the expiration of this date.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The court ( ). The uncovered yard outside the house. There were usually two, one between the door and the street, the outer court, the other the inner court surrounded by the buildings (Mr 14:66). This is here the outer court, “which is without the temple” ( ), outside of the sanctuary, but within the where the Gentiles could go (carrying out the imagery of the Jerusalem temple).
Leave without ( ). Literally, “cast without” (second aorist active imperative of .
Do not measure it ( ). Prohibition with and the first aorist active (ingressive) subjunctive of . This outer court is left to its fate. In Herod’s temple the outer court was marked off from the inner by “the middle wall of partition” ( , Eph 2:15), beyond which a Gentile could not go. In this outer court was a house of prayer for the Gentiles (Mr 11:17), but now John is to cast it out and leave to its fate (given to the Gentiles in another sense) to be profaned by them.
They shall tread under foot (). Future active of , here to trample with contempt as in Lu 21:24, even the holy city (Matt 4:5; Isa 48:2; Neh 11:1). Charles thinks that only the heavenly city can be so called here (Rev 21:2; Rev 21:10; Rev 22:19) because of 11:8 (Sodom and Gomorrah). But the language may be merely symbolical. See Da 9:24.
Forty and two months ( ). Accusative of extent of time. This period in Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7. It occurs in three forms in the Apocalypse (forty-two months, here and 13:5; 1260 days, Rev 11:3; Rev 12:6; time, times and half a time or 3 1/2 years, 12:14 and so in Daniel). This period, however its length may be construed, covers the duration of the triumph of the Gentiles, of the prophesying of the two witnesses, of the sojourn of the woman in the wilderness.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The court which is without the temple. Not merely the outer court, or Court of the Gentiles, but including all that is not within the naov, the Holy and Most Holy places.
Leave out [ ] . Lit., throw out, i e., of the measurement. Unto the Gentiles [ ] . See on Luk 2:32. Rev., nations. Forty and two months. A period which appears in three forms in Revelation : forty – two months (ch. 13 5); twelve hundred and sixty days (ver. 3, ch. 12 6); a time, times and half a time, or three years and a half (12, 14, compare Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7)
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But the court which is without the temple,” (kai ten aulen ten eksothen tou naou) “And the court outside the shrine (temple proper),” the court of the Gentiles, the third open court, farthest from the temple proper, Eze 46:21.
2) “Leave out,” (ekbale eksothen) “Leave it or cast it outside,” the temple and altar area; do not include it for the people of Israel.
3) “And measure it not,” (kai me auten metresle) “And thou mayest not measure it,” or not include it in the jurisdictional area of the restored Jewish temple worship.
4) “For it is given unto the Gentiles,” (hoti edothe tois ethnesin) “Because it was given over to the Gentiles, nations,” Luk 21:24; until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled, which is to end in, or at the midst of the 70th week of Jacob’s Trouble, when the antichrist demands worship of himself, Dan 9:27; 2Th 2:4; Heb 11:26.
5) “And the holy city shall they tread under their foot,” (kai ten polin the hagian patesousin) “and the holy city (Jerusalem) they will trample down, govern, or occupy,” by divine decree, till the “time of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” for a period of Isa 63:18; Luk 21:24.
6) “Forty and two months,” (menas tesserakonta (kai) duo) “even for a period of forty-two months,” during the prophesy of the two witnesses – Israel and the church begin prophesying simultaneously in Jerusalem, v. 3a. This continues until the antichrist ascends the temple and requires personal worship of himself; Joh 5:44; 2Th 2:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(2) But the court . . .Translate, And the court which is outside the Temple cast out, and measure not it; because it was given to the nations (Gentiles): and they shall tread down the holy city forty and two months. The outer courtmeaning, perhaps, all that lies outside the Temple itselfis to be omitted. A strong word is used; the words leave out are far too weak. He is not only not to measure it, but he is, in a sort, to pass it over, as though reckoned profane. The reason of this is that it was given to the Gentiles. Our Lord had said that Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles (Luk. 21:24); the sacred seer catches the thought and the deeper significance. There is a treading down worse than that of the conqueror. It is the treading under of sacred things when the beast-power, or the world-power in men, tramples, like the swine, the pearls of grace under their feet, and turns fiercely upon those who gave them. Such an experience must the Church of Christ undergo. The shrine shall be safe, but the spirit of the nations, though nominally Christian, will be the spirit of Gentilism, worldliness, and even of violence. In the outer court of Church life there will be the ebbing and flowing mass, who sit in the way of knowledge, who stand idle in the market-place, who have no oil in their lamps, and who indirectly pave the way for utter worldliness and practical heathenism. But there is a limit to this desecration: forty and two months it is to last. The same length of time is expressed in different forms throughout the book. Sometimes we have twelve hundred and sixty days, as in Rev. 11:3 and in Rev. 12:6; at another time forty-two months, as here and in Rev. 13:5. A similar period seems to be meant in Rev. 12:14, where a time, times, and half a time is probably a way of expressing three years and a half; all three forms describe periods of the same lengthnot, of course, necessarily the same period. The idea is taken from Daniel, who uses such and similar expressions (Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7; Dan. 12:11). This incorporation of the expressions used by Daniel is one of those hints which remind us that the laws and principles of Gods government are the same in all ages: so that the principles which receive illustration in one set of historical events are likely to receive similar illustrations in after times; and that the prophecies of one era may contain seeds of fulfilments which spring to fruit in more than one age. Thus the words of Daniel were not exhausted in the age of Antiochus, nor the visions of the Apocalypse in the overthrow of any one nation or the corruptions of any one Church. So much may this constantly-recurring period of three years and a half, or forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, teach us. It is not needful, then, to take the period as an exact literal period. It is true that there have been some remarkable historical periods of this length, which various schools of interpreters have pointed out as the fulfilment of these prophecies; but there have been also remarkable blunders on the part of those who, forgetful of Christs own warning, have tried to predict the year when certain prophecies will receive their accomplishments. It is true, also, that the future may bring us further light, and enable us to understand these descriptions of time better; but for the present, the period of forty and two months, the equivalent of three years and a half (the half of seven, the complete and divine number), is the symbol of a period limited in length, and under the control of Him who holds the seven stars and lives through the ages. It is the pilgrimage period of the Church, the period of the worlds power, during which it seems to triumph; but the period of sackcloth (see Rev. 11:3) and of suffering will not last forever.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. The court The enclosure, or yard, in which the holy temple stands.
Measure it not For, though formerly the true Church, it is not now the pure Church, but the apostate. Rev 11:2.
Is given By divine judgment on account of apostasy.
Unto the Gentiles For in the apocalypse Israel is the Christic Church, and the Gentiles are antichristic.
The holy city Same as the beloved city of Rev 20:9, of which the holy city of Mat 27:53 is typical.
And here we may notice the futility of the argument drawn from this phrase to prove that the literal Jerusalem was still standing. It might just as well be argued that the great city of Rev 11:8 that is, the literal old Babylon, the type of antichrist’s capital was still standing. It might even be argued, just as reasonably, that the beloved city of Rev 20:9 was standing at the time of John’s vision.
Tread under foot In ancient times cities were often built at the base around some high, steep hill, on the summit of which a citadel or strong fort was built. So Athens was built upon the plain surrounding the Acropolis. When the city was attacked in war this citadel furnished the last stronghold for the defenders. The lower city might be trodden under foot by the besiegers, while the citizen soldier firmly held the summit. See note on Rev 20:9. So here, they that worship held the temple, while the Gentiles trod the city under foot. Few, but faithful, the heroes of the holy Church held the fort during the siege.
Forty and two months A tolerably long siege for a literal citadel to endure. It is typical of the period when the powers of antichrist tread down the capital of Christ’s kingdom. The symbol appears to be based upon our Lord’s words in Luk 21:24. For the forty-two months see our Introduction on numbers of the apocalypse, and note on Rev 13:5.
We have now (3-12) the typical picture of heroic Christian martyrdom during the period of apostasy. Even in the midst of the gentilized city there are two unterrified yet dying witnesses. Their number, two, is based on the duality of ministry and church. Yet they are miniatured, or diminished, as two, to signalize their faithfulness and to centralize our sympathy on their heroic loneliness in the midst of apostate surroundings. Deep and glorious is the lesson for the faithful witnesses of the truth amid ages of darkness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 11:2 . , . . . Incorrectly, Luther: “The inner choir,” after a bad variation. Also Vitr., Ewald, [2809] Zll., object not only to the expression, but also to what was said in Rev 11:1 , since they conceive of . . in the sense of . . . . , and distinguish [2810] an outer and an inner court, the latter of which, as belonging to the , is measured with it. But the expression . . . [2811] confirms rather the idea given, Rev 11:1 , of the alone to be measured, i.e., the proper temple-building, outside of which the , i.e., the entire space of the court, lies. [2812] Arbitrarily, the is interpreted by Weiss: “the congregation of unbelieving Jews.”
. The casting out , viz., beyond the reach of that which is to be measured, is determined, according to the sense as well as the form of the idea, by the parallel addition, ; [2813] yet in the significant expression [2814] the point must not be overlooked, which Eichh. alone, and without the textual reference to the boundaries of the space to be measured, in his unhappy paraphrase makes equivalent to “declare profane.” [2815]
, for it is given to the Gentiles , viz., by the Divine decree; as the immediately following fut. , which describes the impending fulfilment of this decree, unambiguously declares. Entirely in violation of the context, Beng. remarks that the Gentiles, on account of whose immensity, i.e., innumerableness, [2816] the outer court shall not be measured, shall at one day worship there. Improper also is the mingling of the idea, that the bloody sacrificial service at the altar of burnt offerings is not to be maintained: [2817] it is intended by this, only that according to the Divine decree, the Gentiles shall tread ( , Luk 21:24 ) the court and the entire holy city. [2818] Allied with this is the determination of the by the schematic temporal specification: , i.e., 3 years, [2819] according to the type of the treading down of the holy city and the sanctuary by Antiochus Epiphanes.
[2809] Cf. Gtt., Gel. Anz ., 1861, p. 1013.
[2810] Cf. Eze 40:17 sqq.
[2811] Cf. Rev 14:20 ; Mar 7:15 .
[2812] De Wette, Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2813] Beng., Ewald, De Wette, Hengstenb., Ebrard.
[2814] Cf. Mat 8:12 ; Joh 9:34 sqq., Joh 12:31 ; 3Jn 1:10 .
[2815] Cf. Vitr.: “ Excommunicate .”
[2816] Rev 7:4 ; Rev 7:9 .
[2817] Against De Wette, etc.
[2818] Cf. Mat 4:5 .
[2819] = 3 , Dan 7:25 ; Dan 12:7 ; Rev 12:14 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Ver. 2. But the court ] The antichristian rout, cast out as reprobate silver, as refuse stuff, not worth the measuring.
Given unto the Gentiles ] Antichrist and his adherents. Pa-pagans are no better than Pagans. “Are ye not the children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord,”Amo 9:7Amo 9:7 .
The holy city ] The true Church. See Dan 7:21 ; Eph 2:19 .
Forty and two months ] This number is one and the same with 1260 days. The allusion is unto Dan 7:25 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
without, out. Greek. exothen, meaning outside.
leave = east out. Greek. ekballo, a strong term.
is = was.
Gentiles. Greek. ethnos. Occurs twenty-three times in Rev., invariably translated “nations”, except here. See App-197.
holy city. See Mat 4:5.
tread . . . foot. Greek. paleo. Only here; Rev 14:20; Rev 19:15. Luk 10:19; Luk 21:24, where see note. All these particulars refer to an actual Temple. The church of God knows nothing of an altar here, of a naos, of a court of the Gentiles. All point to the Temple yet to he built in the holy city, i.e. Jerusalem. This Temple will be on earth (see Structure 1894).
forty and two months = 1,260 days = 3 years and a half. A specific period stated in literal language. Compare Rev 11:3; Rev 12:6, Rev 12:14; Rev 13:5. Dan 7:25; Dan 12:7. Luk 4:25. Jam 5:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Rev 11:2. ) In the tabernacle of Moses, in the temple of Solomon, and in the temple of Ezekiel, the Septuagint usually puts for the Hebrew . A court in the open air is meant (in which , grass, readily grows); wherefore there follows, . in some places has crept in, for :[109] but this , since it is the only one, cannot possibly be within the temple, from which it is contradistinguished. Also in Eze 8:16, it is . But here mention is made only of the outer court (in contradistinction to the temple): which in the measuring ought not to be reckoned as a part of the temple, but as it is an outer court, so it ought to be regarded as outside the temple. The reading is much more strongly supported by manuscripts.–) The figure Ploce [See Append. of Techn. Terms]: as Isa 32:19, the city shall be low in a low place.-, shall tread under foot) See Luk 21:24, note.- , forty-two months) These months, and the 1260 days in Rev 11:3, are common months and days: for in the event they are later than the number of the beast, which being put in part enigmatically, in part literally, defines the passing of the book from the prophetical times to common times, as I have more fully shown in other places. Moreover, in my Harmony of the Evangelists, A. 1736, I had declared, that I would answer, in the Gnomon, the Mathematical Demonstration of Joh. Christian Seize respecting the 1260 days of the witnesses and the woman, Revelation 11, 12. I had prepared a reply sufficiently copious on this passage, not only to that Demonstration, but also to another, which the same writer published in the beginning of the year 1737, under the title of the Measuring Rod. But in the same year, as occasion then required, I wrote a review, which was inserted by the collectors of the work, which is called Geistliche Fama, in the 23d Part, after other remarks of Seize and myself: and in the meanwhile, the progress of time, bringing a decision of the question, confirmed my opinion, and rendered a reply superfluous. This question, therefore, being put aside, having in the meantime met with other adversaries, I dismiss this one; for I greatly shrink from unnecessary disputes.
[109] Stephens Rec. Text (not the Elzev. Rec. Text) has for , without good authority.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
tread
See “Times of the Gentiles.” (See Scofield “Luk 21:24”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the court: Eze 40:17-20, Eze 42:20
leave out: Gr. cast out
it is: Rev 13:1 – Rev 18:24, Psa 79:1, Lam 1:10, Luk 21:24, 2Th 2:3-12, 1Ti 4:1-3, 2Ti 3:1-6
and the: Rev 21:2, Rev 22:19, Isa 48:2, Isa 52:1, Mat 4:5, Mat 27:53
tread: Dan 7:19, Dan 8:10, Dan 8:24, Dan 8:25, Mat 5:13, Heb 10:29
forty: Rev 11:3, Rev 11:11, Rev 12:6, Rev 13:5, Num 14:34, Dan 7:25, Dan 12:7, Dan 12:11, Dan 12:12
Reciprocal: Lev 14:45 – break down 1Ki 6:36 – the inner 1Ki 18:1 – after many days Neh 11:18 – the holy Psa 74:3 – the perpetual Psa 102:23 – He weakened Ecc 3:17 – for Isa 1:21 – become Isa 5:5 – trodden down Isa 16:4 – oppressors Isa 20:3 – three Isa 24:13 – there Isa 28:3 – shall Isa 51:23 – Bow Isa 60:15 – thou Isa 63:18 – our Isa 64:10 – General Jer 12:10 – trodden Jer 14:21 – disgrace Jer 51:51 – for strangers Eze 4:6 – each day for a year Eze 41:1 – to the temple Eze 42:1 – the utter court Eze 42:16 – the measuring reed Dan 8:13 – to be Dan 8:14 – Unto Dan 11:36 – till Mar 13:2 – there Luk 10:2 – are Rev 11:9 – three Rev 11:18 – the nations Rev 12:14 – for a time Rev 16:10 – upon Rev 21:15 – a golden
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 11:2. The court in the old temple was the part that was open to the people generally. It is referred to in our passage as a symbol of the treatment that was imposed upon the institution of God by its enemies. Under the Mosaic system the temple was under the jurisdiction of the Jews, and that is why those on the outside were called Centiles. But in the fulfillment of the symbol the word refers to the enemies of the true church, namely, the leaders in the church of Rome. It must be borne in mind that all through this part of the book of Revelation, when reference is made either to Rome, or Babylon, or church and state, the same institution is always meant (if no exception is stated). That is because it was by the union of church and state that such a complete control was obtained over all the lives of the people. That is what is meant by the prediction that they were to tread under foot these arrangements of God. It is important to note that they did not tread under foot the temple nor the altar. That is because all through the Dark Ages there was a true church in existence in spite of the corruptions of Rome, although it was obscured more or less from the full public view. Forty and two months. This is the first time this unit of time has appeared in this book, but it will reappear many times under various figures. It refers to the period of the apostasy or Dark Ages as it is familiarly termed by the teachers in the brotherhood. In literal terms it means 1260 years and the various forms in which it is stated will all sum up to that figure by observing the rule in prophetic language that the month has 30 days. The exact number of years that requires the 60 is reached by the dates on which the full rule of Rome began and ended. Some of the details of that subject are not available to me at present, but we may be sure that the figure is correct from the fact that each of the various forms in which it is stated brings out the same 1260. And as to the correctness of the calculation we have historical verification of the round number in the words of Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He was an infidel and would have no motive for verifying the word of God, but lie was an authentic historian whose ability and accuracy were unquestioned and I shall quote from him as follows: “In the long period of twelve hundred years, which elapsed between the reign of Constantine and the reformation of Luther, the worship of saints and relics corrupted the pure and perfect simplicity of the Christian model; and some symptoms of degeneracy may be observed even in the first generation which adopted and cherished this pernicious innovation.”–Volume 2, Chapter 28, Page 615. The forty and two months of our verse gives us the 1260 by multiplying forty-two by thirty.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 2.
3. The court which is without the temple–measure it not: As the measured portion of the temple symbolized the true Israel, the court without, outside the measured part, signified unbelieving Israel. “The court without–leave out” –it was not to be measured for preservation. They were not the sealed servants of God–they were not included in the twelve times twelve thousand of the spiritual tribes. They were given unto the Gentiles, and along with the old temple and Jewish state they were destined for destruction. As unbelieving Israel they should be cut off (Rom 11:22). Paul said cut off; John said leave out. The whole symbol is that the measured portion was the preserved spiritual Israel, and the unmeasured part was the unbelieving fleshly Jewish nation “given to the Gentiles” to be destroyed by the Romans, which was done in the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the Jewish world.
4. The holy city shall they tread under foot. Jerusalem was the once holy city: but was no longer that. It was here called holy because of its past association with the covenanted and the sainted ancestors. “How is the faithful city become harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.” (Isa 1:21) “0 Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee . . . Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” (Mat 23:37-38) By divine decree Jerusalem was to be desolated and “trodden down of the Gentiles.” (Luk 21:24) The judgment had already been passed, and John was commanded to leave Jerusalem out, and “measure it not,” as that which had been cast away.
5. A thousand two hundred and threescore days. The mathematical calculation of this figure was twelve hundred and sixty days, the same period of time assigned for the flight of the woman into the wilderness. (Rev 12:6) The interpretation of scriptural numerals in relation to days and months should not be made on the basis of the literal number unless an over-riding reason for the exact mathematical application exists. Such a reason does exist in this calculation of the forty and two months, or the twelve hundred and sixty days of Revelation, mentioned in Rev 11:2-3 Rev 12:6 Rev 13:5. From the imperial order and the beginning of the siege to its end and completion it was forty-two months, or a thousand two hundred and threescore days, or the oft-mentioned twelve hundred and sixty days–that was the exact period of time, as a matter of historical record, which covered the events of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
An example of such necessary mathematical application is in the prophecy of Isaiah concerning the end of the ten tribes, Rev 7:1-9. Because of the importance of this Isaiahan prophecy, and its bearing on the exact mathematical application of the forty-two months period of Revelation, the entire section of the Old Testament prophecy is here inserted:
“1. And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jothan, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. 3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; 4. And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, 6. Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: 7. Thus saith the Lord God, it shall not stand neither shall it come to pass. 8. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. 9. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”
This prophecy of Isaiah was to the effect that the conspiracy against Judah could not be executed, and that in threescore and five years the ten tribes (Ephraim) would cease to be a people, and it is the history of it that in exactly sixty-five years, from the date of Isaiah’s prophecy, the ten tribes came to end–and that prophecy was literally fulfilled. And it was the history of it, in connection with the point of discussion, that it was exactly forty-two months (twelve hundred and sixty days, or a thousand two hundred and threescore days) from the imperial command to besiege and destroy Jerusalem to the accomplishment of the commission– and this apocalypse was thus literally fulfilled also.
For the historical evidence, Vespasian received his commission from Nero, and declared war on Jerusalem February, A.D. 67. The siege ended with the fall of Jerusalem, the burning of the city and temple, in August, A.D. 70. This computation of dates yields the forty-two months for Jerusalem to be “trodden under foot” as in the vision of Rev 11:2. The historical authority for these dates is Lardner’s Jewish Testimonies, Vol. 8, and Josephus, in Wars Of The Jews, Vol. 7. The continuous historical theory of the dark ages period and to the end of time lacks historical evidence and factual support and must be rejected.
In Rev 13:5 the same exact number was used to designate the period of the beast’s authority, and for the two witnesses to testify, as mentioned in verse 3, here in chapter 11. It was the same period as the “times of the Gentiles” in Luk 21:24, and it meant the time of judgment on Jerusalem by the Romans–therefore, the city was trodden down until the times connected with these events were fulfilled; that is, the period in which the Gentiles were engaged in the treading down of Jerusalem was thus designated, and only that period was envisioned in the mathematical phrases of the forty and two months and the thousand two hundred and threescore days.
The period designated as “the times of the Gentiles” in the Lord’s discourse on Olivet, as recorded by Luke, (Luk 21:24) does not refer to the time of salvation for the Gentiles, but to the period for the infliction of judgment on Jerusalem which was accomplished by the Gentiles (the Romans). The preposition until connected with the phrase the times of the Gentiles carries no indication of anything after the times mentioned. In Gal 3:19 the apostle declared that the law was added until Christ should come– and that was its point of termination. In Heb 10:9 the apostle further said that the Mosaic ordinances were imposed until the time of the new covenant–and there the old ordinances ended. So the declaration that Jerusalem was trodden down until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled had reference to the siege and destruction of the city–that was the point of termination, and Jerusalem and all for which it had stood in the system of Judaism, theocratically and politically, according to all prophecies and apocalypses concerning it, came to its inglorious end.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 11:2. While it shall be thus with the innermost part of the temple-buildings it shall be otherwise with the rest. The court which is without the temple includes every part of the precincts not belonging to the Holy and Most Holy place; and this fact, together with the instruction cast it out, shows that it symbolizes not the world but the false members of the Church, the branches of the vine that bear no fruit. These parts of the building are not to be measured: they are to be cast out. The expression is important. It is that of Joh 9:34-35, and implies exclusion from the community of Gods people. The faithless members of the Church, those who have yielded to the power of the world, have been given over to the nations, the nations of chap. Rev 10:11, of chap. Rev 20:3. (For contrast see chap. Rev 2:26.)
Of these nations it is further said, the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. In the words the holy city the first allusion is to Jerusalem, but not in a material sense, as if the meaning were that the literal city should be trodden down under the feet of hostile armies. The sense, whatever it be, is metaphorical, as in the case of the temple, the altar, and the court. Jerusalem was the place which God had originally designed to be the residence of His people. In idea and in name it was still that place, but it had been profaned by too many of its citizens. At the time when our Lord knew it, and when its condition became to St. John the mould of the future, it contained both true and false members of the Jewish Church, those who were fulfilling the great end of the economy under which they lived and those who were proving themselves unworthy of their glorious destiny. The counterpart of this in after ages is the outward Christian Church, containing both good and bad members. Glorious things may be said of this city of God; but that with which we have now to do is the entrance of a heathen, of a false, element into her, by means of which the nations tread her under foot (comp. Psa 79:1).
They do this for forty and two months. The period thus alluded to meets us again in Rev 13:5, where it is said of the beast that power was given unto him to continue 40 and 2 months. Again we read of 1260 days (= 42 months of 30 days each) in chap. Rev 11:3, where the two witnesses prophesy 1260 days, and in chap. Rev 12:6, where the woman is nourished in the wilderness 1260 days. And once more, in chap. Rev 12:14 we read of the womans being nourished for a time and times and half a time. The comparison of the two latter passages proves that the time and times and half a time are equivalent to 1260 days; and we can thus have no doubt left upon our minds that all the three periods are the same. This designation of time is taken from Dan 7:25 (comp. also Dan 12:7); and the different numbers must be understood symbolically. The main question is, What do they symbolize? First of all it is obvious that 3 1/2 must be regarded as the half of 7. It is indeed expressly presented to us in this light in Dan 9:27 where it is said, and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. The middle of the week is the half of 7, or 3 1/2. Hence the general meaning may be learned with an approach to certainty. Seven is the number of the covenant with its fulness of peace and joy and glory: three and a half is that number broken, incomplete, looking forward to something else. It symbolizes, therefore, a period of persecution and sorrow, when the covenant seems to be broken, and the promise to fail; when instead of joy there is tribulation, instead of the crown the cross. All the three numbers have essentially the same mystic meaning. Not only, however, is this the case; the considerations now adduced lead to the further conclusion that the three periods referred to denote not three periods of the same length but the same period, and that the change of nomenclature is due to the difference of aspect under which the period is viewed. When months are spoken of the prominent idea seems to be that of the rule of evil, when days that of the suffering of the good. Thus it will be found that chaps. Rev 11:2 and Rev 13:5 on the one hand, and chaps. Rev 11:3 and Rev 12:6 on the other, go together. The times or years of chap. Rev 12:6 lead us rather to the thought of Gods preserving care of His Church while evil rules and good suffers. The space of 40 and 2 months is thus identical with that of 1260 days, and both express the whole time of the Churchs militant and suffering condition in the world, the whole time between the First and Second Coming of the Lord. They are the latter half of the week of the prophet Daniel, the middle of the week being the point from which the calculation runs.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, What St. John is forbidden to measure, and commanded to leave out, as no part of the true church, namely, The court which is without the temple; that is, that part of the visible church which is over-run with idolatry and Anti-christian worship, as bad as Gentilism, and accordingly shall by treated as Gentiles, and trodden down under foot as drossy hypocrites: Measure the temple, says God, but not the outward court.
The temple had but few worshippers, the priests only, in comparison of the outward court, where the body of the people was; whence we see that the true church is but small, very small, in comparision of the false and Anti-christian church, and consequently multitude can be no right note of the true church.
Observe farther, That whereas these Gentiles are said to tread under foot the holy city forty-two months, thereby is signified, that they should kill and persecute the true spouse and church of Christ, (called the holy city, in allusion to the earthly Jerusalem,) during the time of Anti-christ’s prevalency, shall be but for a limited time, a short time; the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The Gentiles would here represent those outside of the church. The marginal reading in the King James is “Cast out,” instead of “leave out.” This may suggest that some who might be thought of as part of the church, like Jezebel and the Nicolaitans, would be cast out and counted as part of the profane. These profane ones would trample the holy city, which is the church now ( Heb 12:22 ) and later will be heaven. ( Rev 21:2 ; Rev 21:10 ; Rev 22:19 ) While the faithful are measured, or protected, the nominal Christian will turn to worldly thinking and assist in abusing and tearing down all the church stands for. (Compare Luk 8:12-13 ; Heb 6:4-6 ) Forty-two months, or 1260 days, or three and one-half years, is a recurring figure in Revelation. ( Rev 11:2-3 ; Rev 12:6 ; Rev 12:14 ; Rev 13:5 ; also Dan 7:25 ; Dan 12:7 ) God will not allow the church to be trampled forever, so three and one-half years is used to represent a short, or broken, period of time.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Verse 2
Forty and two months; equal to three years and a half–a period not unfrequently occurring in the Scriptures, and supposed by some commentators to be used here for an indefinite period. The mention of the same period in days occurs in Revelation 11:3, and appears to indicate that a specific time is intended.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
11:2 {3} But the {a} court which is without the temple {b} leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the {4} Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot {5} forty [and] two months.
(3) As if he should say, it is not your place to judge those who are outside, 1Co 5:12 who are innumerable: look to those of the household only, or to the house of the living God.
(a) He speaks of the outer court, which was called the peoples court, because all men might come into that.
(b) That is counted to be cast out, which in measuring is refused as profane.
(4) To profane persons, wicked and unbelievers, adversaries to the Church.
(5) Or a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, as is said in Rev 11:3 : that is, a thousand two hundred and sixty years, a day for a year, as often in Ezekiel and Daniel, which I noted before see Geneva “Rev 2:10”. The beginning of these thousand two hundred and sixty years, we account from the passion of Christ, by which (the partition wall being broken down) we were made from two into one Eph 2:14 . I say, one flock under one shepherd in Joh 10:16 and the end of these years precisely falls into the reign of pope Boniface the eighth, who a little before the end of 1294, entered Rome in the feast of Saint Lucie (as Bergomensis says) having put in prison his predecessor Coelestinus, whom by fraud, under colour of Oracle, he deceived: for which cause it was well said of him, “Intravit ut vulpes, regnavit ut leo, mortuus est ut canis.” That is, “He entered like a fox, reigned like a lion, and died like a dog.” For if from 1294, you subtract the number of years Christ lived on the earth, you will find there remains just one thousand two hundred and sixty years, which are mentioned in this place and many others.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
"Leave out" (Gr. ekballo, lit. cast out) implies removal from divine favor (cf. Mat 22:13; Mat 25:30; 3Jn 1:10). The court outside the temple corresponds to the court to which Gentiles had access in the first century, which lay outside the court into which only Jews could come. The Tribulation temple will evidently have similar courtyards. Not measuring amounts to exclusion from God’s favor as measuring amounts to enjoying His favor (Rev 11:1). The nations are the Gentiles, specifically hostile, unbelieving Gentiles (cf. Rev 11:18; Rev 14:8; Rev 19:15; Rev 20:3). These Gentiles will oppress the holy city, which is earthly Jerusalem (cf. Rev 11:8; Rev 21:22; Luk 21:24). Others view the reference to the holy city as alluding to the Jewish people. [Note: E.g., Beckwith, p. 588; and Ladd, pp. 152-53.] However if the city is people, who are the people in the city? Some say they are believing Israelites. [Note: E.g., ibid., p. 153.] Others believe the holy city is heavenly Jerusalem. [Note: E.g., Beale, p. 568.]
The 42 months are the last half of the Tribulation since this will be the time when Gentile hostility to the Jews is most intense (cf. Dan 9:27). The Gentiles will dominate the outer court of the temple and the rest of Jerusalem for 42 months. Anti-Semitism will peak after the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week (Dan 9:27). This interpretation seems more likely than that 42 months refers to the 42 encampments of Israel in the wilderness, [Note: Ibid., p. 565.] or that they represents a period "of measurable duration." [Note: Morris, p. 147. Beale, pp. 557-59, explained five major interpretations of Rev 11:1-2.]