Ronald Weinland

MEASURING THE TEMPLE – PT. 4

The Church now has only 16 months remaining in the prophetic 42-month period for measuring the temple. As stated in the last post, this measuring process first involves a primary focus that is upon the ministry, which includes those who are to be cast out and “not measured at all.” Thus far in this period, there are now 25 ministers who have been cast out of the court and given over to the gentiles.

As with the ministry, this same process has been at work within the overall Church, however, as a comparative percentage, there are far fewer members who have been cast from the court. This is a time to be sobered! God has primarily worked to remove those who are in the ministry, who have not been serving Him in spirit and in truth. The ministry, because of their very ordination, can cause greater harm to the Body, and therefore, they have a higher accountability and judgment upon them.

In the time remaining within this prophetic period, God will continue working within the entire Church, which still includes the ministry, to bring to light those who choose to refuse to fully worship Him in spirit and in truth. Although this process has been working first and foremost within the ministry during the first two years of this period, God has begun to more fully manifest others who have been lingering in the area of the court, or becoming lukewarm in the temple, who are to be removed and/or chastened for doing so. Yet it needs to be mentioned again that the equivalent percentage this is happening to, within the overall church, compared to what has been revealed within the ministry is far, far less, and even when some are exposed, God is granting them to receive more mercy and grace through being chastened and thereby giving them the opportunity to repent, rather than being removed from the temple. If chastening does not bring swift repentance and change, then they too will be removed from the temple and cast beyond the court and directly to the gentiles.

Before a final “great work” is to begin, that work being accomplished during the final 1260 days, the Church is first (now) to receive a final cleansing as well as a final refining. This refining is a process for being prepared and fitted for each person’s participation in that work. There truly is good news in the midst of all this, as once the measuring of the temple is complete, from that point forward, very few will be lost during the rest of the way to Christ’s coming – and potentially none at all!

Being Measured
These verses in Revelation are indeed about a final refining and preparation for participation in the great work that is to occur before Christ’s coming. At this point, it is important to quote a paragraph from the last post.

“The structure of the Church (the temple) that will continue on is being readied – prepared – to fulfill a calling of participating in that final great work. In order to accomplish that work in a more powerful and profound manner, at the end of the age of man’s self-rule, the Church must be more fully yielded to God in unity and purpose. This is so God can more fully ‘dwell in’ His Church to accomplish that great work.”

All should be able to see the importance and need to fully remove from the environs of the Body of Christ that which is not part of that Body in spirit and truth. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” So God is blessing His Church by removing such individuals who are not repenting of leaven and yet remain in the court – in the environs of the Church. God is also chastening those in the temple who have let down spiritually and have become lukewarm and who are in danger of being cast beyond the court. God is leaving little confusion as to what is truly His by removing much leaven and thereby making the Body much stronger.

But what does “being measured” fully entail? This is all about “taking the measurements of something,” or in this case, “someone.” This is about individuals who are in the temple. However, it needs to be understood that God and Christ do the “measuring,” and then they reveal to the Church what it must know in order to properly address what is necessary to help refine, correct, alter (work to change or transform), strengthen, and finish what is being built (constructed).

The example of a building process that is involved in construction is a helpful aid to assist in better grasping the ongoing building of a spiritual temple. For the temple, great precision must be used in preparing every piece as it is worked with and measured closely during the construction process so that it will fit perfectly into place for what its purpose and design are to accomplish. Such an example like this is good and we relate well to it, but in today’s world of technology, another good example of “this process” could be described in the functioning and performance of a machine. This is especially true in the example that can be used in this modern age of agriculture of a tractor or harvesting combine. This too can aid someone to get a clearer idea of this process we are addressing.

Such machines have many functioning and precision parts that must fit perfectly into place and work in harmony together as the operator directs it in order to accomplish his purpose for its use. A building that is constructed is stationary; however, a machine has active working parts that must function in total harmony to perform its work. These simplified analogies can assist in gaining a somewhat better perspective of a far more complex and awesome process of how God works with us in our lives to “live in” and through us to accomplish an important phase of His plan that He is working out in order to grant great salvation to this world at the coming of His Son.

This is what the purpose of measuring the temple is all about. God is preparing us for a specific task (work) that is ahead for us – that He will accomplish through us. We must be measured and fitted for that work so that we function more fully in unity and harmony together to accomplish God’s greater purpose. The ability to be measured and fitted for those working parts is largely dependent upon each person’s desire to be of such service to God, along with the willingness to yield to God’s molding, design, and purpose.

This is why those who are not yielding to God “in” the temple, but remain outside “in the court,” cannot be part of this construction and the work that is ahead. Such cannot work together in harmony and unity, and they do not follow the direction that comes from God and Christ through the Church.

God’s Purpose
The Church is quite familiar with many scriptures that are related to this process, but have not seen them fully in this light about the process and purpose for measuring the temple. These verses shed much light upon what God is perfecting through the measuring He and His Son are doing. It would be good to examine some of these.

“From whom (from Christ) the whole body is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, which makes increase (growth) of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16).

The expression “fitly joined together” is a single Greek word formed from other Greek words. Without going into great detail, although it is fascinating what these fully express, the thrust of the meaning can be summed up as “a means to walk in completeness,” as the result of the “ability of the body to articulate” what must be “set forth or communicated.” Indeed, God desires that we walk together as a single body, in completeness, with an ability to clearly live, reflect, and even speak in unity of that which God is preparing us to accomplish in His final great work that is to be completed before Christ’s coming.

Another interesting word in this verse is the word “compacted.” It too is formed from the Greek word for completeness with special emphasis on the process of “driving or fitting” something into place to create (make, produce) “unity.”

Another verse that incorporates some of this same meaning is in 1 Corinthians.

“Now I call upon you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Paul declares that he is stating this by Christ’s authority), that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

Indeed, God’s purpose for measuring the temple is so that His Church functions in stronger unity and purpose to support and uphold the truths He has given it, especially in the fulfillment of events that must come to pass before His Son is established as King. We are to live, reflect, and speak this word (logos from God) in harmony in God’s purpose and the work He will do through His two witnesses. This also has much to do with those things that were written in 2008 – God’s Final Witness that reveal God’s purpose and end-time judgment that leads to His Son and His government being established once all opposition from world governments and religions are made impotent and brought to nothing.

Then there is a verse that warns against those who turn away from upholding Christ, who become puffed-up in self-reliance and pride about “their understanding” of what they “see” as truth. This verse then focuses on the process that all should be yielding to concerning what God and Christ are working to accomplish within the Church.

“And not holding (upholding, supporting, being loyal to, keeping) the Head (Jesus Christ, by what he has given the Church), from which all the body by joints and bands (as ligaments that help with control and movement) having nourishment ministered (spiritually from God), and ‘knit together’ (same Gk. word translated in Eph. 4:16 as ‘compacted’), increases (makes increase and growth) with the increase of (from) God” (Col. 2:19).

The result is that God is in control of how He measures, molds and fashions, fits together, and builds His temple. This process is the very result of what we are to experience in a magnified way throughout this 42-month period.

Yielding to the Process
It has already been mentioned in passing that for the measuring and fitting that God is doing, we always have the choice as to whether or not we will continue to yield to the process. It comes down to how much value we place on the end product that will be produced in our lives if we continue to submit to God’s molding and fashioning.

Some few let pride get in the way as they begin to feel that they are not treated fairly, that correction they have been given is not justified, that others are being shown favoritism above them, that they deserve something better than what they have, etc. As I was writing this, I could not help but think that each one of these selfish thoughts (thinking) is exactly what Satan has always believed toward God. It is the same spirit. Is it any wonder that we must go through many kinds of trials, tests, and refining in order to get rid of such an evil spirit ,as much as we possibly can, while in this human flesh?

When we yield to God, instead of trying to work out things our way, we are to exercise trust and faith in God that He truly knows what is the very best way for our life to be changed and transformed in order to create what is best and most fulfilling for us. No one can be like the clay that tries to tell the potter he should make them into something else or to make them in some other “better” way. Do you truly believe God knows what is best and that He knows exactly what it takes to transform and create Elohim in us?

So we are to yield to the direction God leads, to correction, to government, to instruction, to sermons, to posts, etc. This means we must right now focus more than ever on examining ourselves before God as we seek to know our true motives and intent of our heart so that we can repent more quickly of error and embrace more readily God’s judgment for our motives and actions.

We should now have a far better grasp of the “why” and of “what” it means to live in this prophetic period that has a magnified focus upon the measuring of the temple.

The next post for me, personally, is another exciting one to be (possibly) written, as it is to be direct, candid, corrective in nature, highly revealing for use as a powerful mirror, and for the deeper, far greater change and final refining transformation it can potentially produce. However, whether or not it is written, and to the depth and magnitude its impact can potentially have upon us, is dependent upon each of you in the Church. God is clearly showing me that whether or not it is even written, as well as its very content and depth of strength and revelation that it can potentially contain, is fully dependent upon each person’s petitions (prayers) that reveal such desire to receive what God can give to us. So my parting admonition and encouragement to you is that you pray for this next post in a zealous, fervent, and highly desirous manner.