Rob Dalrymple, «The Use of ka1/ in Revelation 11,1 and the Implications
for the Identification of the Temple,
the Altar, and the Worshippers», Vol. 87 (2006) 387-294
Thus, by means of the symbolic act of measuring ‘the temple’, which is
composed of those who will suffer martyrdom (‘the altar’) and those who
remain faithful to the end (‘the worshippers’) John reassures the entire
covenant community that their eternal destiny is firmly within the sovereign
judge’s control. The epexegetical use of ka1/ in 11,1b explains why it is ‘the
altar’ and not some other piece of furniture that is measured. Finally, the
distinction between the righteous who are martyred and those who are not
confirms that John did not perceive all of the righteous as suffering
martyrdom.
390 Rob Dalrymple
That the act of ‘measuring’ in Rev 11,1 metaphorically connotes the
divine protection afforded the righteous receives support from the fact that it
is the to;n nao;n tou' qeou' (the temple of God) that John is commanded to
measure; which throughout the NT is applied spiritually to the righteous.
2. The Temple of God
The phrase, the ‘temple of God’, which occurs eleven times in the NT
(24), connotes a spiritual application in every instance except one. The only
occasion in which the phrase refers to the physical temple in Jerusalem is in
Matt 26,61. However, the use of this phrase in Matthew, instead of
weakening the case for a spiritual understanding throughout the NT,
strengthens it. For, in Matthew we have a clear indication that the
redemptive-historical era, in which Jesus is the true temple of God that
supersedes the old, has arrived. Beale observed that Matt 26,61, “provides a
transitional perspective between the Old Testament prophecies of a future,
eschatological temple and the way Jesus began to view those prophecies as
beginning to be fulfilled†(25). That is, here and throughout the Gospels, Jesus
is portrayed as the true temple — rebuilt via His resurrection — that has
come to replace the physical Jerusalem temple. One need only reference
John 2,19-21, where John parenthetically confirms that, ejkei'no" de; e[legen
peri; tou' naou' tou' swvmato" aujtou' (but He was speaking about the temple of
His body; 2,21), to support the claim that Jesus, by means of His
resurrection, has become the eschatological temple. Also, such language is
unequivocally applied to the church in both 1 Cor 3,16-17 and 2 Cor 6,16; as
well as throughout the NT (26). Consequently, understanding the phrase ‘the
temple of God’, in Rev 11,1, spiritually, in application to the righteous,
stands firmly in the redemptive-historical tradition inaugurated by the death
and resurrection of Christ.
Thus, in light of the use of this phrase throughout the NT (27), as well as
Revelation itself (28), I suggest that the application of the ‘temple of God’ in
11,1 to the righteous would have been the more natural understanding to the
first readers. The questions now arise as to why John is commanded to
measure ‘the altar’ and ‘the worshippers’? What do they designate? And, how
do they relate to the command to measure the ‘temple of God’?
3. The Altar and the Worshippers
In Rev 11,1b, many commentators assume that John is also told to
measure ‘the altar’ and ‘the worshippers’ (hence, preferring to translate, kai;
(24) Matt 26,61; 1 Cor 3,16-17(2x); 2 Cor 6,16(2x); 2 Thess 2,4; Rev 3,12; 7,15;
11,1.19.
(25) BEALE, Temple, 275.
(26) E.g., Eph 2,19-22; 1 Pet 2,5.
(27) See: BACHMANN, “‘Temple Gottes’ von Apk 11.1â€, 474-480; BEALE, Revelation,
557-565; CAIRD, Revelation, 132; KEENER, Revelation, 288; B.M. METZGER, Breaking the
Code. Understanding the Book of Revelation (Nashville 1993) 70; C.H. TALBERT, The
Apocalypse. A Reading of the Revelation of John (Louisville 1994) 44.
(28) See: KEENER, Revelation, 288