In Revelation 21:17, what is meant by the phrase, “measure of a man, that is, of an angel”?<\/p>\n\t
“Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel<\/em>” (Revelation 21:17).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
John is trying to give us the impression of the immense size of this place, so he tells us that it is 144 cubits, but in his day a cubit was not nearly as precise as we make measurements today. A cubit is a length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Generally, it is about 18 inches, but we have found variations, which you would expect since everyone is not exactly the same size.<\/p>\n
But this gives some potential misunderstand, after all, it is an angel who is making the measurement. Some might argue that angels could be a different size than humans. So to emphasize it, John says the cubit is according to the measure of a man, but he also points out that an angel’s cubit is the same length anyway.<\/p>\n
By this, John is also making the subtle point that in heaven angels and men will be equals. “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection<\/em>” (Luke 20:35-36).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: In Revelation 21:17, what is meant by the phrase, “measure of a man, that is, of an angel”? Answer: “Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel” (Revelation 21:17). John is trying to give us the impression of the immense…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[102,76],"class_list":["post-16191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-revelation","tag-terminology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40660,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-bible-mathematically-wrong-in-i-kings-723\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":0},"title":"Is the Bible mathematically wrong in I Kings 7:23?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is the Bible mathematically wrong in I Kings 7:23? If the diameter of the laver is 10 cubits, then shouldn't the circumference be 31 cubits? Answer: \"And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0016-9-300x245.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18190,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-solomons-sea-hold-2000-baths-or-over-3000-baths\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":1},"title":"Did Solomon’s Sea hold 2,000 baths or over 3,000 baths?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did Solomon build a facility containing 2,000 baths (I Kings 7:26), or over 3,000 baths (II Chronicles 4:5)? Answer: \"Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. Under its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4044,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-was-the-sea-of-bronze\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":2},"title":"What was the Sea of Bronze?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the Sea Of Bronze? Answer: One of the furnishings in the tabernacle and the temple was a laver to hold water so that God's requirements for the priests to wash before doing certain ceremonies could be done. \"You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/scan0002-300x211.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3951,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-angels-preach\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":3},"title":"Do angels preach?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do angels preach? Answer: \"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83173,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-the-letters-in-revelation-support-the-idea-of-a-leading-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":4},"title":"Do the letters in Revelation support the idea of a leading elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We believe in the plurality of elders in the church and that elders are equal in the sense that there is no senior or chairman elder. In Revelation chapters 2 & 3, the seven letters are addressed to \"the angel of the church.\" The angel refers to the elder\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33333,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-believe-apollyon-is-satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":16191,"position":5},"title":"I don’t believe Apollyon is Satan","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In regards to Is Satan female? you said one of his names was Apollyon and cited Revelation 9:11. But read Revelation 9:1-11 and 20:1-2.\u00a0Apollyon binds Satan. 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