Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 11:2

"And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." — Revelation 11:2 (ASV)

As the “outer court” in the Jerusalem temple was frequented by a mixed group including Gentiles and unbelievers, so in John’s mind the earthly temple or community of God may involve a part where those who are impure or unfaithful will be (21:8; 22:15). The effect of not measuring this part of the temple is to exclude those in it from spiritual security and God’s blessing. So in measuring the temple, Ezekiel is instructed to exclude from the sanctuary “the foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh” (Ezekiel 44:5–9)—i.e., pagans who do not worship the true God and whose presence would desecrate the sanctuary. Previously, John has shown concern over those who were associated with the local churches but were not true worshipers of Christ (cf. 2:14–16, 20–25; 3:1–5, 16). When the great test comes, they will join the ranks of the beast and reveal their true colors.

On the other hand, it may be better to understand the desecration of the outer court as a symbolic reference to the victory of the beast over the saints (described in v.7). Thus by using two slightly different images, the “templealtar-worshipers” and the “outer court-holy city,” John is viewing the church under different aspects. Though the Gentiles (pagans) are permitted to touch the “outer court” and to trample on the “holy city” for a limited time (“42 months”), they are not able to destroy the church because the “inner sanctuary” is measured or protected in keeping with Christ’s earlier word in Mt 16:18.

Since John says the outer court will be “given to the Gentiles,” it is important to establish the best translation of “Gentiles” (ethnos; GK 1620). (1) In some NT contexts, this word may have the more general sense of “nations,” describing the various ethnic or national groups among humankind (e.g., Matthew 24:9, 14; Romans 1:5; Romans 15:11). (2) In other contexts, it denotes “Gentiles” in contrast to the Jewish people (e.g., Matthew 4:15; 10:5; Acts 10:45; Romans 11:11). In many cases the broader sense may shade off into the narrower, producing ambiguity. (3) But there is a third use of ethnos. Just as the Jews referred to all other peoples outside the covenant as “Gentiles,” so there gradually developed a similar Christian usage of the term that saw all peoples who were outside of Christ as ethnos, including unbelieving Jews (1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:5; 1 Peter 2:12; 3Jn 7; cf. our word” “pagan” or “heathen”). When the sixteen cases of ethnos in Revelation are examined, not once is “Gentiles” appropriate. Everywhere they are the peoples of the earth, either in rebellion against God (11:18; 14:8; 19:15; 20:3) or redeemed and under the rule of Christ (2:26; 21:24, 26; 22:2). There is no good reason why John does not intend the same sense in 11:2.

To sum up, “given to the Gentiles” refers to the defiling agencies that will trample down the outer court of the church, leading to defection from Christ or physical destruction, though all the while the inner sanctuary of the true believers will not be defiled by idolatry. This spiritual preservation of true believers will be accomplished by John’s prophetic ministry, which distinguishes loyalty to Christ from the deception of the beast.

The nations will “trample on the holy city for 42 months.” What is “the holy city”? The more literal viewpoint sees it as the earthly city of Jerusalem. Support for this is found in (1) the OT’s use (Nehemiah 11:1; Isaiah 48:2; Isaiah 52:1; Daniel 9:24) and Matthew’s use of “holy city” for Jerusalem (Matthew 4:5; Matthew 27:53), (2) the proximity of the term “the holy city” to the temple reference (v.1), and (3) the mention in v.8 of the “great city... where also their Lord was crucified.” Since Jerusalem was destroyed in A. D. 70, and since Revelation was presumably written about 95, these interpreters hold two views about the meaning of this reference to the city. Some believe it to refer to a rebuilt Jerusalem and temple during the future Tribulation period. Others see it as merely a symbolic reference to the Jewish people without any special implication of a literal city or temple. But if John does in fact differentiate here between believing Jews (inner court) and the nation as a whole (outer court), this would be the only place in the book where he does so. Furthermore, such a reference at this point in the context of chs. 10–11 would be abrupt and unconnected with the main themes in these chapters—the nature of the prophetic ministry and the great trial awaiting Christians. Far more in keeping with the emphasis of the whole book, and of these chapters in particular, is the view that “the holy city,” like the temple, refers to the church. The consistent usage of the expression “holy city” means the community of those faithful to Jesus Christ, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles (21:2, 10; 22:19; cf. 3:12; 20:9). It should also be noted that the name Jerusalem nowhere appears in ch. 1, though a circumlocution for it in v.8 (“where also their Lord was crucified”) is prefaced with the word “figuratively” (see comment on v.8). While the vision of the future Holy City (chs. 21–22) describes the condition of the city when she has completed her great ordeal and is finally delivered from the great deceiver, the present reference is to God’s people as they must first endure the trampling of the pagan nations for “42 months.” Does the trampling (GK 4251) indicate defilement and apostasy, or does it instead mean persecution? This word can metaphorically mean either of these. Two factors favor the latter sense. The time of the trampling is “42 months,” which is the exact time John attributes to the reign of the beast (13:5–7). Furthermore, in Daniel’s prophecy the trampling of the sanctuary and host of God’s people by Antiochus Epiphanes (Daniel 8:10, 13) is clearly a persecution of the people of God. But what of the term “42 months”? This exact expression occurs in the Bible only here and in 13:5, where it refers to the time of the authority of the beast. Mention is also made of a period of 1,260 days (i.e., 42 months of 30 days each) in 11:3 and 12:6. In 12:14 a similar length of time is referred to as “a time, times [i.e., two times] and half a time.” All these expressions equal a three-and-onehalf-year period. In Revelation, “42 months” refers to the period of oppression of the Holy City and the time of the authority of the beast (11:2; 13:5). The “1,260 days” is the period the two witnesses prophesy and the time the woman is protected from the dragon’s reach (11:3; 12:6). “Time, times and half a time” seems to be used synonymously for the 1,260 days during which the woman will be protected in the desert (12:14). We cannot assume that because these periods are equal, they are identical. On the other hand, the three different expressions may well be literary variations for the same period. Daniel is generally taken to be the origin of the terms. In Da 9:27 a week is spoken of (“seven,” NIV), and the context makes it clear that this is a week of years, i.e., seven years. Further, the week is divided in half—i.e., three and a half years for each division. These half weeks of years are spoken of in Da 7:25 as “a time, times and half a time.” Both early Jewish and Christian interpreters referred this to the period of the reign of the Antichrist. In Da 12:7 the identical expression refers to the period “when the power of the holy people has been finally broken”; in 12:11 the equivalent period expressed in days (1,290) refers to the time of the “abomination” and defilement of the temple. Whether or not these references refer to the second-century B. C. activities of Antiochus Epiphanes must be left to the exegetes of Daniel; but it is known that the Jews and later the Christians believed that these events at least foreshadow, if not predict, the last years of world history under the Antichrist. Thus John would have a ready tool to use in this imagery for setting forth his revelation of the last days. Some commentators suggest that the first three and a half years is the period of the preaching of the two witnesses, while the second half of the week is the time of bitter trial when Antichrist reigns supreme. Others believe the expressions are synchronous and thus refer to the identical period. With some reservations, the former view is preferable. The 1,260-day period of protected prophesying by the two witnesses (11:3–6) synchronizes with the period of the woman in the desert (12:6, 14). When the death of the witnesses occurs (11:7), there follows the forty-two-month murderous reign of the beast (13:5, 7, 15), which synchronizes with the trampling down of the Holy City (11:2). This twofold division seems to be also supported by Jesus’ Olivet Discourse, where he speaks of the “beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8) and then of the period of “great distress” shortly before his second coming (Matthew 24:21). Finally, are the two periods of three and a half years symbolic or do they indicate calendar years? Not all will agree, but a symbolic sense that involves a real period but understands the numbers to describe the kind of period rather than its length is in keeping with John’s use of numbers elsewhere (cf. 2:10; 4:4; 7:4). Hence, if we follow the twofold division of Daniel’s seventieth week of seven years, the preaching of the two witnesses occupies the first half, while the second half is the time of trial when the beast reigns supreme, and during which time the fearful events of chs. 13–19 take place. This explanation must, however, remain tentative.