“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’” Revelation 11:1-3.
We have a judgment taking place here. Some people are judged “worshipers” and some are judged “Gentiles”. Since the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, under Titus of the Romans, this temple has to be symbolic.
We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the true temple. Any physical structure is not a temple or church of God unless it is filled with people who are true temples of God in their bodies. That can only happen when we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
What we find here is that the worshipers are very few. How do we know that? Because John was told to count them. You can’t count the stars; there are too many of them. You can’t count the sand on the seashore; there are too many of them. You can’t count the water droplets in the ocean; there are too many of them. We can’t even count all the people in the world today using our sophisticated, scientific equipment. We can’t even count all the people in Los Angeles. We can come to a close approximation, but we can’t be sure we have counted every single one. Therefore, when John was told to count, it was because he was able to.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14.
The Gentiles are symbolic of those who do not worship the true God. They have set up their own institutions of worship. They have built big cathedrals and churches; however, God is not among them since they do not obey His Ten Commandments and the 7th day Saturday Sabbath.
When was this period of time to take place? For 42 months. That is the same as 1260 days (years) in Bible prophecy. This is the time that the Catholic Church ruled the world and “trampled on the holy city”. The Catholic Church trampled on truth and drove it to the ground. It destroyed the holy city of God in the person of God’s worshipers.
During this time the two witnesses (Old and New Testaments) of God would prophesy in sackcloth. They prophesied and cried out at the events that were then taking place. These two witnesses were crying out in accusation against the church system that was destroying the truth. The church literally had the two witnesses chained to monasteries and churches. If you read from the Bible or were caught with portions of the Scripture, you could be killed, tortured and your property taken away. Truly, they prophesied in sackcloth during this time. (Soon to happen again.)
The Old and New Testaments are the “two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth”. Revelation 11:4. Olive oil in terms of the sanctuary has always been symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The lampstands in the sanctuary have always been symbolic of the “Light of Life”. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets who wrote down the messages that gave Light to the world. Those messages are contained in the Old and New Testaments.
“Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze upon their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.” Revelation 11:7-10.
This prophecy is historically fulfilled in the history of France. France was the son of the papacy. Whatever dirty work the papacy wanted done, it knew it could depend on France to carry it out. For almost eight hundred years France fought the wars and executed the martyrs for the Roman Catholic Church.
“The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, the mass killing of French Protestants by Catholics, began on Aug. 24, 1572, and is remembered as a crime against humanity. It was preceded (August 22) by the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a prominent Huguenot in Paris. Many other Protestant nobles had come to the capital to attend the wedding of Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV) and Margaret of Valois. CATHERINE DE MEDICIS, who feared Coligny’s plans for war with Spain, was probably implicated in the murder plot, and when an investigation threatened to expose her role in the scheme she persuaded her son, Charles IX, to order the death of the Huguenot leaders in anticipation of a supposed Protestant plot. The killing began in Paris and was extended to the provinces, continuing until October. It is estimated that tens of thousands were slaughtered.”*
During the 1260 years that the Catholic Church ruled, France became a despotic government. The citizens were taxed heavily by the civil government and heavily by the Roman Catholic Church. Because of this oppressive environment the nation rose up to throw off the two oppressive institutions. This culminated in the Reign of Terror.