Measure the
Do dreams really have
meanings?
Some of them, perhaps? All of them?
Perhaps none of them?
In a recent Bible study, when
we were discussing the prophetic, meaningful dreams and visions of King
Nebuchadnezzar of
But for God’s people, are
some of our dreams perhaps, at least sometimes, a kind of “nudge” from God to
get us to shift our minds in a certain direction?
I ask this question, because
a few weeks ago, I had a strange dream.
Have you ever noticed that,
normally, we tend to totally forget most dreams – even vivid ones – very soon
after we wake up? This is usually the
case with me and my dreams. But this one
was different. I remembered it hours and
even days after waking. So I wrote down
all the details that I could remember.
The well-known surrealist
artist, Salvador Dali (1904-1989) used to do this kind of thing on purpose, for
art’s sake. He was known to rig up a
crude, but effective, alarm system so that, after his lunch each day when he
dozed off in the Catalonian sunshine, his alarm would go off, waking him up;
and he would immediately make notes of what he saw in his dream. He included some of these dream images in
many of his more bizarre paintings.
The images of my own recent
dream may well have just been random electricity on my brain. But maybe not. At the very least, they gave me a relevant
subject for this pre-Passover sermon!
So here is my record of my
dream:
I
first remember some kind of sports activity – perhaps a church-related one;
perhaps a Y.O.U. track and field meet from the Nineteen-eighties? Another person and I had to measure whatever
was being thrown. Discus? Shot?
Javelin? I don’t know what it
was.
But,
as sometimes happens in dreams, the perceived location changed; and the next
thing I remember, the other person and I were then measuring the inside of a
building – a dim and unpleasant, brick-lined basement of a building, in which we
found cluttered cubby-holes containing evidence of rubby-dubs making their home
there.
For
our measurements, we were using a measuring tape – but one that was way too
short for our purposes. As with the “bed
too short” allegory of Isaiah 28:20, this short tape-measure was very
frustrating to me because it made it necessary for us to make multiple
measurements, which needed to be added together. This made me even more frustrated because we
had no paper or pencil with which to record our measurements, and my mental
arithmetic skills being as poor as they are, I kept losing track of the total
length!
So that was it! That was my dream! As with many dreams, this one had no happy,
logical, sensible ending. I woke with
that same feeling of frustration; but also wondering if there was perhaps a
lesson in the dream; if it meant anything.
Perhaps, I thought, it might have meant that there is something more
that I should be doing that I have not
been doing up to this point in my Christian sojourn. Was God perhaps trying to nudge me into
thinking about something that I should have been thinking about; but had not
been? If so, what was that something?
The main theme of my dream
was that of measurement. And what do Christians and other Bible
students think of when we hear the words “measurement” or “measure? Don’t we often think of the measuring of the
temple? That is the train of thought
that this dream led me into. So for this
article, let us do a Bible study on this subject of the measuring of the temple. I believe that such a study is particularly
appropriate for this time leading up to the Passover.
Ezekiel’s Temple Measuring Prophecies
A study of the building of
God’s tent-tabernacle and later stone temples will make it obvious that many measurements
were made in order to fulfil God’s instructions as to their sizes and
designs. In this regard, may I recommend
an excellent and eye-opening book, first published in 1899, entitled “The
Tabernacle – its Priests and Services” by William Brown, which goes into the
fine, but very interesting and inspiring, detail of the design and building of
God’s tent-tabernacle.
Rather than going into these
details of the physical tent-tabernacle and stone temples in this article, I
would like to go into the spiritual and prophetic aspects of the measuring of
God’s temples.
There are quite a few
different places where we could begin this study. I chose to begin in the fortieth chapter of
the book of Ezekiel:
In the twenty-fifth year of our (Judah’s) captivity,
at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth
year after the city (Jerusalem) was captured, on the very same day the
hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there.
(Ezekiel 40:1)
It is interesting that God
inspired this vision to take place during the final lead-up to the Passover –
specifically on the tenth day of the month called Abib. This was the day on which God commanded the
Passover lambs to be chosen and watched.
This was the day that began the three days of the “beholding of the
lambs” (Exodus 12:3-6; John
In the visions of God He took me into
the
Bible scholar John Gill suggests
that one of these measuring devices may have been used to measure broadly, and
the other was to measure in detail.
Continuing in verse 4:
And the man said to me, “Son of man,
look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I
show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of
Poor Ezekiel! I hope that, unlike me in my dream, he took a
note-book and pencil along with him!
There was so very much for him to remember and to pass on! Verse 5:
Now there was a wall all around the
outside of the temple. In the man’s hand
was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and
he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.
Men can argue about the
modern views of the actual length of the Bible’s cubit; but most scholars agree
that it is about eighteen inches. This
would make this measuring rod nine feet long.
This is an interesting snippet of information, but we do not need to get
into that level of detail in this discussion.
The main two details that I want to point out here are these: Firstly, that it was the temple that was
being measured here. The Hebrew word for
“temple” is “bayith.”
Secondly, there was a whole lot of measuring going on; and God wanted
His prophet Ezekiel to witness it and to record it all. On to verses 6 and 7:
Then he went to the gateway which faced
east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway,
which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. Each gate chamber was one rod long and one
rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the
threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod.
This measuring continues
throughout this whole fortieth chapter.
It is not necessary for us to read it all. As the Hebrew word “bayith”
can also mean “house,” “tribe” and other words, we will jump down to verses 38
and 39, and just touch on a few points relevant to the fact that it is one of
God’s temples that is being measured here:
There was a chamber and its entrance by
the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering. In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables
on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering,
the sin offering, and the trespass offering.
Subsequent verses also
mention the priests, the Levites, the altar and the temple musicians. Then again, in verses 45 and 48, the temple
is specified:
Then he said to me, “This chamber which
faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple… Then he brought me to the vestibule of the
temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side
and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on
this side and three cubits on that side.
This measuring continues on
into Chapter 41. We will just pick out a
few relevant verses for now:
Then he brought me into the sanctuary (Hebrew “heykal” which can mean temple, palace, nave, hall) and
measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the
other side—the width of the tabernacle (Hebrew “ohel”
which can mean tent, dwelling , place, covering, home)… He measured the length, twenty cubits; and
the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; (heykal) and he said
to me, “This is the Most Holy Place”… He
measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard,
with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits,
as well as the inner temple… (heykal)… and the
porches of the court. (Ezekiel 41:1, 4,
15)
Most Bible scholars agree
that the temple being described here was not the tent-tabernacle; nor was it
Solomon’s temple; nor the post-exilic rebuilding by Zerubbabel; nor that of
Herod’s later embellishments; but rather that it was a prophetic depiction of
the future temple of the World Tomorrow.
This makes a lot of sense, because God, through Ezekiel, later says of
this same temple:
And He said to me, “Son of man, this is
the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will
dwell in the midst of the children of
(Ezekiel 43:7:
At the time of the
fulfillment of this prophecy, the house of
Other
Let us leave the book of
Ezekiel now and move over to chapter eleven of the book of Revelation, where we
read a similar prophecy regarding the subject of the measuring of the temple
from the apostle John:
Revelation 11:
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod.
And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the
altar, and those who worship there. But
leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it
has been given to the Gentiles. And they
will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. (Revelation 11:1-2)
We will come back to these
verses later; but for now, just so that we can determine the end-time setting
of this prophecy, let us take a quick peek at verses 3 and 4:
And I will give power to my two witnesses,
and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in
sackcloth.” These are
the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the
earth.
Please keep this in the back
of your mind. There is an implication
here that there might be a temple of some kind in existence in
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, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make
it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate.
In order for them to cease,
the sacrifices and oblations must first be reintroduced; and in order for the
sacrifices to be reintroduced, a temple is a necessity. The reason the sacrifices an oblations ceased
in 70AD was because the temple was destroyed.
We will come back to
Revelation 11 later, but for now, let us move on and examine some other
prophesies which tell us that, as well as the measuring rod or tape, a
“plummet” or plumb line is necessary.
For what purpose? To see if the
building/temple is straight, plumb, perpendicular:
And I will stretch over
Here is another relevant
mention in Amos 7:7-8:
Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord
stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you
see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a
plumb line in the midst of My people
Here, we join the prophet
Amos, as he sees the Lord holding a plumb-line in His hand, standing on a wall
which, as Amos specifically notes, was built using a plumb-line. This might imply that this wall was
originally built good and straight.
Then the Lord tells Amos that
He is setting a plumb-line in the midst of His people
Also I will make justice the measuring
line, and righteousness the plummet… (Isaiah 28:17_
Please notice that God says
here that it is He who retains the authority as to what His measuring line and
plumb-line should symbolize. He clearly
tells us here the interpretation of His spiritually symbolic measuring line and
plumb line:
His measuring line represents
true justice. The Hebrew word is “Mishpat” which, interstingly, can
also mean Measure! It can also mean judgment, right, law, lawful, order, worthy, and discretion.
God’s plumb-line represents
true righteousness. The Hebrew word is
“Tsedawkaw” which can also mean justice,
right and righteous acts.
Please keep these definitions
in the back of your mind, as we will come back to them later. But for now, let us move on to another
prophet’s mention of the Measuring of the
For who has despised the day of small
things? For these seven rejoice to see
the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole
earth." (Zechariah 4:10)
The question, “Who has
despised the day of small things?” is well known to all Bible students. Haven’t you ever wondered about what “the
small things” refer to, and how this question is relevant to the plumb-line that
Zerubbabel is carrying?
The Targum (which is the
ancient Aramaic translation of the Bible) paraphrases this question as: “For
who is he that despises this day, because the building is small?” This might refer to the size of “the second
temple” that God was rebuilding through Zerubbabel. It was small and perhaps inferior in
comparison to Solomon’s temple (See Haggai 2:2-3).
Zechariah
Now the angel who talked with me came
back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a
lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps
with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two
olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its
left.”
(Zechariah 4:1-3)
So “these seven” in verse 10
is referring to these seven lamps and the seven pipes. This seems to be referring to the lamp-stand
that was manufactured for temple use.
But remember that “these seven” have the ability to rejoice; so they
must represent something much more than just an inanimate lamp-stand.
I do not want to get into too
much detail on the symbolism of this lampstand in this article. It would make a good Bible study on its
own. But I would like to do is to tie it
in with the end-time temple and the measurement of it. Let us continue in verse 4 to 9:
So I answered and spoke to the angel who
talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered
and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” So he answered and said to me: “This is the
word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
says the LORD of hosts. ‘Who are you, O
great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you
shall become a plain! And he shall bring
forth the capstone (of the temple) with shouts of “Grace, grace to
it!”’” Moreover the word of the LORD
came to me, saying: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this
temple; His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you…
This clinches the fact that
God’s temple is again being referred to here.
Let’s repeat verse 10 and continue through verse 14:
For who has despised the day of small
things? For these seven rejoice to see
the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the
whole earth.” Then I answered and said
to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at
its left?” And I further answered and
said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles
of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” Then he answered me and said, “Do you not
know what these are?” And I said, “No, my
lord. So he said, “These are the two
anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
And what are the two olive
trees to the right and left of the lampstand?
What are these two olive branches?
Who are these two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole
earth? They are mentioned again and
identified in more detail in Revelation 11:3-4:
And I will give power to my two
witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days,
clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two
olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
The Zechariah 4 prophecy
dovetails perfectly with the ones we read in Revelation 11 and Revelation
1. But again, I do not want to get too
far onto the secondary topic of the lampstand and off our main topic of Measuring
the
God and His People are the Ultimate
Temple
Yes, God had His tent-tabernacles
and His stone temples throughout many eras of what we call “Bible times”; and
it appears that there might also be physical temples at the end-time and even
during the Millennium. But, important as
they are, these physical temples are merely physical symbols of their spiritual
counterparts. There may be more, but I
count three spiritual temples:
i)
God’s throne in
heaven – right now,
ii)
The people of
God’s true church, collectively – right now,
iii)
God the Father,
Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints – in the World Tomorrow. Maybe during the Millennium, but definitely
in the eternity following it.
Let us look at a few
scriptures which support the amazing concept of these spiritual temples. First of all, from Jesus Himself, telling the
Jews that, even in His human form, He was the true
Jesus answered and said unto them,
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then said the Jews, “Forty six years was this
temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His
body.
(John 2:19-21)
Being totally unaware that
this prophecy would be fulfilled within a few days from that time, the Jews
used this against Him in their accusations which were designed to have Him put
to death. They also mocked Him with His
own words as He hung on the stake:
We heard him say, “I will destroy this
temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made
without hands.” (Mark
And those who passed by blasphemed Him,
wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!
You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself,
and come down from the cross!” (Mark
15:29-30)
Yes. Jesus clearly declared that He was (and still
is) the temple of God. What did His
apostle Paul say on this subject?
Lots! Let us just look at a few
instances:
Do you not know that you are the temple
of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will
destroy him. For the temple of God is
holy, which temple you are. (I
Corinthians 3:16-17)
Paul repeats himself here –
for emphasis – that the people of God’s true church are, collectively, the
temple of God. He also warns anyone
against defiling God’s temple. How can
we defile God’s temple? What did he mean
by this? Paul comes back to it in
chapter 6:
Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ? Shall I then take the
members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!.. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the
body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God, and you are
not your own? For you were bought at a
price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are
God’s. (I Corinthians 6:15, 18-20)
This can be a warning against
spiritual immorality – idolatry – as well as physical. In his second letter to God’s church in
Corinth, Paul reminds them of what he had pointed out in his first:
And what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For you are the temple of
the living God. As God has said: “I will
dwell in them and walk among them. I
will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (II Corinthians 6:16)
Paul clearly sent this
message to the church members in Corinth.
We will come back to this repeated warning again later in this
article. But was it only the Corinthian
brethren who made up the spiritual temple of God? Of course not! Paul wrote this to God’s church in Ephesus:
Now, therefore, you are no longer
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of
the household of God. (Ephesians 2:19)
The word “household” here is
translated from the Greek word “oikeios.”
The English “household” is
quite an acceptable translation; but there seems to be a “double entendre”
here. As well as implying the God Family
membership aspect, the word can also be translated “house” as in a
building. This second intended meaning
becomes clear as we continue in verses 20 to 22:
… having been built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in
whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the
Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in
the Spirit.
Paul’s references in his
letters to the Corinthians might lead us to believe that God’s people were a
complete temple building by that time of his writing. But this mention to the Ephesus congregation
strongly implies that they were – and by extension we are – still in the
building process. Please notice
that Paul says that we “are growing into
a holy temple” and that we “are being built.”
A second implication in
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is that we are all individual parts of the
temple building. Jesus Christ certainly
agrees with this concept. After all, He
inspired Paul’s statement. But He also
countersigns it through the words He commanded the apostle John to record –
that we are all pillars in God’s temple:
He who overcomes, I will make him a
pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God
and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from My God. And I will write on
him My new name. (Revelation 3:12)
In Galatians 2:9, Paul
recognized his fellow-apostles, James, Cephas (Peter) and John as being
spiritual pillars. Also, in his first
letter to young Timothy, he writes:
I Timothy 3:15:
But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct
yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar
and ground of the truth.
Let us take a quick look at
these two words “ground” and “pillar.”
·
“Ground” is a
poor translation of the Greek word “hedraioma.” It actually means a stay, prop or support.
·
The Greek word
for “pillar” is “stulos” which is derived from “stuo” which means to stiffen. It refers to a column, prop or support.
It is important that the
pillars of any building, but especially those of God’s holy temple, must be
stiff, rigid, straight and strong; also that they must be of an adequate circumference. Hence, we can see the need for an accurate
measuring rod or line to measure the size, and the necessity for a plumb line
to make sure that the pillars and other parts of the temple structure are
straight and true. We will come back to
this.
Measuring Ourselves Only?
Are we actively measuring our
own pillars? Our own individual parts of
God’s temple? As we draw close to the
Passover, we know that we are to put a high priority on examining ourselves:
But let a man examine himself, and so let
him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
(I Corinthians 11:28)
Yes, this is especially
important prior to each Passover; but also, it is necessary on a regular,
ongoing basis throughout the year:
Examine yourselves as to whether you are
in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that
Yes, we are to measure our
own personal parts and pillars of the temple.
But does this mean that we are not to measure our neighbouring pillars
in order to see if they measure up and are straight? Is it wrong to do so? Please consider this:
Then I was given a reed like a measuring
rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise
and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the
temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot
for forty-two months. (Revelation
11:1-2)
Please notice that it was
John – a human being – who was given the commandment to measure God’s
temple. Notice also that John was not
given authority to measure anything or anyone outside the temple itself – only
the temple, the altar and those who worship there. Could this, perhaps be a repetition of the
scripture that tells us to righteously judge the people of the church – but not
those of the world outside? Here it is:
But now I have written to you not to
keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous,
or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat
with such a person. For what have I to
do with judging those also who are outside?
Do you not judge those who are inside?
But those who are outside God judges.
Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person. (I Corinthians 5:11-13)
What was Paul referring to
here? Let us go back to the beginning of
the chapter. Here are verses 1 to 3:
It is actually reported that there is
sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named
among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather
mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among
you. For I indeed, as absent in body but
present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has
so done this deed.
The apostle Paul certainly did exercise righteous judgment
regarding the wrong-doing that was going on in the Corinthian church – not only
the terrible sin of gross immorality; but also the leaders’ and members’
acceptance of it. By God’s authority,
Paul took these men and women who claimed to be Corinthian pillars and stones
of God’s spiritual temple, and he lined them up beside the Standard – Jesus
Christ; he measured them with Jesus’ measuring rod and plumb-line, and he found
them requiring more work – more chiseling – before they could be effectively
used as pillars.
As mentioned earlier, in his
second epistle to them, in the same set of scriptures in which Paul commanded
the Corinthians to examine themselves apart from the pre-Passover context, he
re-warned them that he would come and judge them again if it became necessary:
I have told you before, and foretell as
if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who
have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not
spare. (II Corinthians 13:2)
Is proper, righteous judgment
of our fellow Christians OK in certain circumstances? Yes, it is.
In addition to the scriptures already quoted, our Lord Jesus Christ
clearly said so in Matthew 7:16 and 20, Luke 6:44 and John 7:24.
When we consider the physical
symbols, we will see that there is good reason for the proper measurement –
righteous judgment – of our neighbouring pillars. What would happen in God’s physical temple if
our pillar was the right height,
width and circumference in order to carry the load placed upon us; but some of
our neighbour pillars were not? What if
some of them were too long or too short?
Or what if their circumference was too small? Or what if they were made from inferior, weak
stone like the crumbly Tufa stone found in much of Italy? Not only would the building look very odd – it would be unwieldy and
might be in danger of falling.
Mismatched pillars attempting
to bear the load of God’s temple building would be like different kinds of
animals being yoked together to pull a plough or a cart (I will happily share
Paul’s mixing of metaphors in this case):
Do not be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what
communion has light with darkness? And
what accord has Christ with Belial? Or
what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living
God. As God has said: “I will dwell in
them and walk among them. I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.”
(II Corinthians 6:14-16)
But what if we become aware
of some fellow church members or ministers claiming to be temple pillars; but
who are involved in or supporting some of these things? What are we to do? God tells us, through Paul, repeating from I
Corinthians 5:13, quoted earlier:
But those who are outside (i.e. outside
God’s church) God judges.
Therefore “Put away from yourselves the evil person.”
But what if we do not have
authority to put that evil person away from our fellowship? What if that person’s actions are approved or
supported by the leadership of that church group? What do we do then? Back to II Corinthians 6, we will continue in
verses 17 and 18:
Therefore “Come out from among them and
be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not
touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says
the LORD Almighty.
If we are unable to put the
evil person away from ourselves, then we must put ourselves away from the evil
person. God knows that such separation
would be painful for us; but He commanded it as a necessity, nevertheless.
Sure Foundation
In a few weeks time, my wife,
Tricia, and I hope to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. From its very beginning, this famous tower
suffered from a design flaw. It began to sink very early
in its life – after construction had progressed only to the third floor in
1178. This was due to a mere three-metre
(nine foot) foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil.
The foundation of God’s temple cannot – must not – be flawed. It must be straight, strong and perfect. So let us ask the question, Is the foundation solid? Is it perfect? The short answer is, Yes, it is:
Nevertheless
the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows
those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ
depart from iniquity." But in a
great house… (and what house is ther greater
than God’s temple?)… there are not only
vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honour and some
for dishonour. Therefore if anyone
cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified
and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. (II Timothy 2:19-21)
These “vessels” might refer to all of the things that make up a house, a
household or, in this case, a temple.
The list would include the building materials, yes; but also the
utensils that are in daily use in the house.
And high quality is mandatory.
Would inferior pieces of wood be acceptable? Of course not! They might be warped, thus causing the
building to be out of alignment.
Following this sub-topic, let us go back to I Corinthians 3, where we were
earlier:
Now he who
plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward
according to his own labour. For we are
God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. (I Corinthians 3:8-9)
Here, Paul was just coming to the end of an agriculatural analogy; but at
the end of verse 9, with the words, “you are God’s building,” he changes to begin
a new analogy; that of a building project.
Paul’s Greek word for “building” here is “oikodomay” which can also mean an edifice, edification, the act of building
up, or of promoting another’s growth. Continuing
in verses 10 through 15:
According
to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid
the foundation, and another builds on it.
But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than
that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become
clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and
the fire will test each one’s work (i.e.
building work), of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it
endures, he will receive a reward. If
anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet
so as through fire.
So any part that we may have in this building project must be of the very
highest quality. As with God’s
tent-tabernacle and His stone temples, only the best will do. Inferior quality building materials are
totally unacceptable and must be rejected.
Just what is this building that God, through Paul, is referring to
here? He clearly tells us in verses 16
and 17:
Do you not
know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in
you? If anyone defiles the temple of
God, God will destroy him. For the
temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Of course, Paul is referring to the holy, spiritual temple of God –
collectively the people of His church.
While on this sub-topic of
quality building on Christ’s quality foundation, let us go back to
Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 19:
Now, therefore,
you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God.
Paul had a great way of transitioning from one sub-topic to another –
sometimes using word-play. Here,
pivoting on the word “household” (Greek “oikeios”), he makes the transition
from his sub-topic of our membership in the Family and household of God over to
his related sub-topic of the house itself – the building – the temple. Conrinuing in verses 20 to 22:
Having been
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together,
grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Here is that foundation again. The
same one? Yes, Jesus Christ, the Rock,
being the main corner foundation stone, supported by the other main foundation
stones – His faithful apostles and prophets.
Highest quality to start with on the very basic level? You bet!
What about the subsequent layers of stones – those that represented the
various eras of the church of God throughout the centuries? Were they of the highest quality? Of coursethey were! If they weren’t, God would have rejected
them. What about the current layer of
church-stones – us? Are we of the
highest quality? Brethren, we must
be! If we are not, then we will be
rejected. We must strive to “become
perfect” just as Jesus commanded in Matthew 5:48. If we are doing our level best, using the
Holy Spirit that He has put within us, to become perfect quality stones and
pillars, He promises to fill in and make up for any gaps in our perfection (II
Corinthians 12:9-10; 13:9-11; Philippians 4:19).
This foundation, the holy city and the eternal temple which the foundation
undergirds – is it something new?
Something New Testament? No!
By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive
as an inheritance. And he went out, not
knowing where he was going. By faith he
dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents (flimsy,
temporary tents) with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise; for he waited for the (Rock solid) city which has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
(Hebrews 11:8-10)
Abraham saw the Holy City thousands of years in advance; but did he get to
live in it? Verse 13 tells us “No”:
These all
died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were
assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and
pilgrims on the earth.
Through faith they as good as had them.
But not quite. What was it that
Abraham and the other patriarchs saw and inherited, but still have not yet received?
And the
wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation
21:14)
This agrees with Ephesians 2:20 (which we read earlier) in that the
secondary foundations are made up of Jesus’ apostles and prophets. The primary foundation stone – the head of
the corner is Jesus Christ Himself.
This is important. It is
mentioned over and over again. God
inspired the psalmist to declare it first in Psalm 118:22. Jesus quoted it in Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10
and Luke 20:17. The apostle Peter quoted
it in Acts 4:11 and again in I Peter 2:7.
Back in Revelation 21, verse 19:
And the
foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious
stones. The first foundation was jasper;
the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald… etc., etc.
Our pillars must be built on that right, Rock-solid foundation; that of
Christ, His apostles and prophets. But
why? Jesus gives the answer in Luke
6:47-49:
Whoever
comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is
like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation
on the rock. And when the flood arose,
the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it
was founded on the rock. But he who
heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a
foundation (like those bulders of the
leaning tower of Pisa), against which the
stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.
We must align ourselves with Jesus’ straightness and uprightness. We must measure ourselves – not against the
Imperial standard of inches and feet, or the Metric standard of metres and
centimetres – but against the pure and holy standard of Jesus Christ:
Till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; (Ephesians 4:13)
Final
Measurements and the Ultimate Temple
Back in Revelation 11, once again, we see that John was commanded to
measure the temple, etc.:
Then I was
given a reed like a measuring rod. And
the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and
those who worship there.” (Verse 1)
The ensuing verses reveal that the time setting of this measuring appears
to be at the time of the Two Witnesses, immediately prior to Christ’s
return. Then ten chapters later in
chapter 21 – a thousand year Millennium has gone by. What do we see? We see more measuring taking place – an angel
measuring the holy city, its gates and its wall:
And he who
talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its
wall. The city is laid out as a square;
its length is as great as its breadth.
And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are
equal. Then he measured its wall: one
hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of
an angel. (Revelation 21:15-17)
But please notice that we do not see this angel measuring the temple. In fact, we do not see a temple at all! Why not?
We are told in verse 22:
And I saw no temple therein: for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
No more measuring of the
temple will be required. All will be
plumb, straight and of perfect measure, relative to God’s perfect standard of
measurement. All will be one. God’s people will at last be in 100% unity
and perfection with God the Father, with Jesus Christ, and with each
other. All will be perfect. All imperfections will have been negated – as
verses 8 and 27 tell us – swiftly and mercifully neutralized by fire:
But the cowardly, unbelieving,
abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is
the second death… But there shall by no means enter it (the Holy
City) anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only
those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
But we are not there yet. We still
have some way to go. So we must keep on
with our measuring of God’s temple. Yes,
in our pre-Passover self-examination; but also on an ongoing, daily basis.
Arise! And measure the temple!
John Plunkett
The Church of God
Qualicum Beach, British Columbia,
Canada
April 2, 2011