And there was given me a reed like unto a rod
A measuring reed, which with the Jews was six cubits long, (
Ezekiel
40:5 ) ; with the Greeks and Romans, ten feet long; the
Ethiopic version here calls it a "golden reed", as in ( Revelation
21:15 ) . This was given unto John very likely by the same
angel that gave him the little book, since he afterwards bids him
arise and measure with it; and by it seems to be designed the
holy Scripture, or the word of God, which is sometimes called a
line, a rule, and rod, ( Psalms 19:4 ) (
110:2
) ( Galatians 6:16 ) , and
which is the rule and measure of doctrine and faith; and by it
all doctrine is to be tried and measured, and whatsoever is not
agreeably to it is not of God, nor to be received, but rejected;
and it is the rule and measure of all discipline, worship, and
practice; it lays down the plan of a Gospel church, which should
be gathered out of the world, and separated from it; it shows who
are the proper materials of it, what officers are to be
constituted in it, and what ordinances are to be administered,
and what laws and rules should be observed in receiving and
rejecting of members, and according to which the whole community
should walk; in short, it directs to all the forms, laws, and
ordinances of God's house; and this is the use John, or those
whom he represents, were to make of it:
and the angel stood;
the same that stood with his right foot on the sea, and his left
foot on the earth, and gave to John the little book, ( Revelation
10:1 Revelation
10:2 Revelation
10:9 ) ; though it may be not in the same place and
situation, but rather at the gate of the temple, as in ( Ezekiel 40:3
) . This clause is not in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic
versions, but is in the Syriac version and Complutensian edition,
and is rightly retained, or otherwise it would seem as if the
reed spoke:
saying, rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar,
and them
that worship therein;
the allusion is to the temple of Jerusalem, with its
appurtenances; there were the most holy place, and the holy
place, which was the inner court of the priests, into which they
only entered, which was strictly speaking the temple, and is
referred to here; and there was the altar of burnt offering,
which was in the court of the priests, and the altar of incense,
which was before the vail that divided between the holy and holy
of holies; and then there was the outer court for all the
Israelites to worship in, referred to in ( Revelation
11:2 ) : and by "the temple of God" is here meant the church,
of which the temple was a type; and so particular congregated
churches are called temples, ( 1
Corinthians 3:16 1
Corinthians 3:17 ) ( 2
Corinthians 6:16 ) ( Ephesians
2:21 ) . Solomon, a man of peace, was the builder of the one,
and Christ, the Prince of peace, the builder of the other;
Solomon's temple was built of hewn stones, made ready before they
were brought thither, and a true church of Christ consists of
lively stones, hewed and fitted for this spiritual building by
the Spirit of God; the temple at Jerusalem was built on a high
mountain, and on the north of the city, the church is built upon
the rock Christ Jesus, and the Gospel church, or churches, in the
times of the sixth trumpet, which this vision refers to, and to
the close of it, are in the northern parts of Europe; and as the
temple was for religious use and service, for the worship of God
and sacrifices, so is the Gospel church, and so are Gospel
churches, for the ministry of the word, and administration of
ordinances, and for the offering up the sacrifices of prayer and
praise; and as in the most holy place were the ark of the
covenant, and the mercy seat, and as it was the place of the
divine Presence, where God granted communion to his people, so in
the church are held forth the mysteries of the covenant, Christ
as the mercy seat and the propitiatory, in whom the displays of
grace are made, and through whom the saints have fellowship with
God, and enjoy his presence: "the altar" may design Christ
himself, by whom the saints draw nigh to God, offer up their
sacrifices, and are accepted with him; or the whole of Gospel
worship and ordinances, as prayer, preaching, singing of praise,
and the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper: and they
"that worship therein", or "thereat", are the royal priesthood,
or such who are made kings and priests unto God, for none went
into the inner court, or served at the altar, but priests; and
who make use of Christ, the altar, of his person, blood,
righteousness, and sacrifice, in their approaches to God; and who
are praying souls, wait at the altar of incense, and draw nigh to
the throne or grace with a true heart, and worship God in Spirit
and in truth: now "measuring" of these respects not the primitive
church for the first three or four hundred years, and the
formation of that according to the rule of God's word, and as a
pattern to other churches; for though the apostolic church, or
the church as it was in the apostles' time, and as described in
their writings, was such a church; yet the church for such a
space of time as above was not; there were great departures both
from doctrine and discipline, the mystery of iniquity began to
work, and way was made for the man of sin and it was far from
being a pattern to be imitated; and besides, this measuring
refers to the times of the sixth trumpet, and the close of it:
nor does it respect the sealing of the 144,000 between the sixth
seal and the opening of the seventh seal, which was for the
protection and security of them during the times of the six
trumpets, which brought desolation into the empire, and apostasy
into the church; though measuring sometimes may seem to denote
protection, as in ( Zechariah
2:1 Zechariah
2:2 Zechariah
2:5 ) ; and though the outer court is, and will be, a
protection to spiritual worshippers, so long as it is not in the
hands of the Gentiles, yet this is not the sense, at least not
the whole of it: nor does this refer to the hiding of the church
in the wilderness, during the reign of antichrist; which might
seem to be signified by the internal worshippers retiring to the
altar, and to the holy and the most holy place, and being
concealed there; and especially since the opening of the temple
in ( Revelation
11:19 ) , may seem to be opposed to this; but that takes in
too large a compass of time, this being an affair relating only
to the close of the sixth trumpet, and which was to be before the
seventh trumpet sounded: it seems rather to respect the times of
the Reformation by Luther, Calvin, and others, when the measuring
reed of the word was taken in hand, and used; but then it was
used chiefly for the restoration of pure doctrine, and with good
success, but not so much for the regulating and orderly
discipline of the churches, for the purity of Gospel worship and
ordinances; most, if not all the reformed churches, set out upon
too broad a bottom, being national, provincial, or parochial;
there was a temple, and an altar erected for God, and there were
internal and spiritual worshippers; but then they took in the
outward court, which should not have been measured in, and
circumscribed with them, but should have been left out; but the
time for this was not yet come, but now is: in short, I take it
that this measuring refers to what was done in the last age,
particularly in our nation; and that it has respect to the
separation from the national church, when churches, more or less,
were gathered and formed according to the Gospel plan and the
primitive institution; a work which never was set about and so
effectually done before since the age of the apostles: the
baptized and congregational churches are the temple, altar, and
worshippers measured, who have both the true doctrine, worship,
and discipline of God's house among them; a set of men in the
last age were raised up, who drew a plan of churches, and of
church discipline, according to the ancient model; gathered
churches out of the world, and constituted them according to the
order of the Gospel; circumscribed them, and enclosed them
according to the rules of God's word, admitting none but such
into communion who were judged by the churches subjects of the
grace of God; and rejected and excluded from among them such as
were wicked and scandalous; and so reduced the pure members of
churches to a small number, a little flock, a few names in
Sardis: and I am of opinion that the measuring reed must be used
again; we have got of late, through negligence, or a want of a
spirit of discerning, too many of the outward court among us; who
must be left out, in order to be given up to other hands, as
follows.