The future starts now.
Chapter 40
From here on out in Ezekiel, we start to learn the future. The future of the Babylon captives and remnant of Israel and our own future. Jesus is coming back and it is going to be millennial!
Verse 1 starts with a date, 25th year of our exile—at the beginning of the year. Ryrie dates that at March–April of AD 573. He also orients us to Jerusalem, the 14th year since the city was taken. So, by now, enough prophesies have come to pass, the witnesses of the sacking of Jerusalem could offer first person confirmation. I'm hoping the remnant takes every little thing he says to heart.
The Lord transports Ezekiel to Jerusalem in the vision of God—I assume in the Spirit.
He's now on a high mountain, overseeing a structure that looks like a city. He sees a Man with an appearance of bronze standing in the gateway with two devices for measuring—one for long measurements one for short measurements. Ryrie identifies this as the Angel of the Lord, or preincarnate Jesus Himself speaking to Ezekiel. The Man tells Ezekiel to watch, listen, and pay attention to what He is going to show to Ezekiel. Then Ezekiel is to declare to the house of Israel what he sees.
- a wall around the Temple about 20 inches thick and over 10 feet tall
- a massive east-facing gate
- inward-facing porch
- 3 guardsrooms on each side of the passageway leading to the outer court
- massive barrier wall in front of the guardsrooms on each side
- there's a lot more measurements and descriptions of the perimeter
- windows all the way around inside
- decoratively, there were palm tree ornaments on each pillar
I have some friends from church that believe each morning that today is the day that Jesus is coming back. We all should think and act that way; but most of us don't see enough of the signs yet. But if I wanted to, I can find a modern interpretation here. There's no Temple yet, and ancient walls wouldn't protect a modern nation; but Ezekiel could only describe what he would have understood at the time. I've seen videos of what it takes to get into Israel and it's all guarded checkpoints all day. I've seen cars try to ram the checkpoints and get shot on sight. And don't even get me started on iron dome. They are a nation that is fortified like a mighty city. And that seems to me what Ezekiel is seeing. Also worth noting that we're not starting from the Holiest of Holies on the inside, but the gate and defensive structures on the perimeter.
Starting in verse 17, Ezekiel moves to the outer court. There was pavement and 30 chambers facing the pavement. The gates on the north and south were similar to the ones in the east. The gate on the east has seven steps up, the number of perfection, which makes sense because that's the direction the Lord is returning to.
There are also inner gates at each outer gate. The south gate was very similar to the others, and has eight steps, so that's interesting. The east and north gate were the same, with 8 steps for the inner court.
Starting in verse 38, we learn more about the north inner court gate, related to the practice of offerings:
There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate, where the burnt offering was to be washed. 39 And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered. 40 And off to the side, on the outside as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and off to the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables. 41 Four tables were on either side of the gate, eight tables, on which to slaughter. 42 And there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered. 43 And hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid. Ezekiel 40:38–43
More chambers specific to the priests. Notice that specific tribes are named. That means we'll be able to identify those who were scattered and recalled by tribe!
On the outside of the inner gateway there were two chambers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the south gate facing north. 45 And he said to me, “This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple, 46 and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the Lord to minister to him.” 47 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple. Ezekiel 40: 44–47
The last few verses describe the vestibule to the Temple, including the notation of 10 more steps up.
If you know my blog style you might notice that I don't have a lot of commentary on most of these verses. This type of information is pretty tedious for me because my brain is so concrete, the design structure details leave me with a bit of a headache. Maybe if it was a video and I could see it visually, I might be able to discover something. This is why I don't care for a lot of sci-fi and fantasy stories. Lots of wordy descriptions and fake languages. I'm listening to the second book in CS Lewis' Ransom series, Perelandra. It's much more dull than the first one because of this, vivid and detailed writing.
Here's where I was going with that. It's God's Holy Word. Some text is best suited for those who enjoy that kind of thing. We're all body parts doing different functions in one Body. So I want to read it and process it, knowing the Spirit can bring it back if He wants to in the right circumstances. And Ezekiel has been so fascinating to me. I love his general writing style. So if God told him to come tell us all of this, it's important. There is going to be a new Temple. Bigger than last time. He is coming back again and this time He's going to sit on the throne for a thousand years in that Temple. So I want to know all that I can.
Amen.
Chapter 41
The descriptions continue in this chapter, but it starts with these words:
Then he brought me to the nave and measured the jambs. Ezekiel 41:1a
If you're like me, really try to keep in mind this is all happening in a vision. Ezekiel is transported to Jerusalem, and then to the outside of the Temple, and now INSIDE the future Temple to be built for Christ's return.
That's amazing. Not just for the supernatural aspect, which is amazing enough, but also because it reminds us that He is the Great I AM. Timeless. Ezekiel can go there, where we are all heading, because God is then and now and before and ahead. Outside of time. That's a very cool reminder...
Now back to the description: start at verse 2. He gives exact measurements in the nave for the pillars, entrance, and the length and width of the nave itself. Then we get learn about the doorway. Then we learn that this is called "the most holy place." Next we learn the measurements of the Temple house.
We learn about the three stories of side chambers, 30 on each story. These became wider with each story. There was a raised platform all around it. There was a thick outer wall of the side chambers, as well as free space and doorways. There is also another building in the compound.
The thresholds, the latticed windows and the galleries round about their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), Ezekiel 41:16
I just wanted to show how much detail is being provided here. It's incredible. It's not my favorite type of information, but I am grateful to be part of a bigger family and body that is used for His glory and I appreciate the amount of detail for future comparison. And confidence that God has the future well in hand.
It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, 19 a man’s face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. 20 From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave. Ezekiel 41: 18–20
See. Now we're more into my territory.
- cherubim
- palm trees
- cherubim and palm trees alternating
- cherubim with two faces
- cherubim with man's face toward a palm tree on one side
- cherubim with lion's face toward the other side
- all the way around the house
Now that's interesting.
- cherubim are angels always worshiping God in His Temple.
- MacArthur notes that cherubim are associated with God’s dwelling place. Their presence on the walls signifies that this Temple is a place where God’s glory resides.
- While the living creatures in Ezekiel 1 had four faces, these have only two (man and lion).
- The Face of a Man: Symbolizes the highest point of God’s creation—man, wisdom, reason, and individual personality.
- The Face of a Lion: Symbolizes majesty, power, and sovereignty. Often, it also refers to the king, in this case, maybe God. Although I'm not sure He ever limits Himself to one icon. The MacArthur Bible Commentary theorizes it might be an image of the Messiah King. This might be evidence that this is the vision of the Temple in the Millennial Kingdom.
- Combined Meaning: Together, they may represent the reconciliation of God’s creation.
- Wiersbe often highlights that in the biblical world, the palm tree (specifically the date palm) was a symbol of several virtuous concepts:
- Victory and Peace: Palm branches were waved during triumphs. In the context of the Millennial Temple, they represent the ultimate victory of God over His enemies and the era of "Shalom" (peace).
- Uprightness: Just as a palm tree grows straight and tall, it symbolizes the renewed "righteous man".
- Life in the Desert: Palm trees signify life and refreshment in a barren land, pointing to the spiritual life of God’s presence.
- A palm tree was positioned between every cherub. The cherubim (angels) and palm trees (earthly nature) alternating "all around the house" suggest a world where the heavenly and the earthly are finally in perfect harmony.
The description continues with the doors and doorposts and then the wooden altar, the "table that is before the Lord." The doors has swinging leaves on them and well as the cherubim and palm trees.
When I was looking for insights on the symbolism, I read about these chapters in the Wiersbe commentary, Be Reverent, and he listed out all of the biblical Temples. I found this interesting.
- The Tabernacle, led by Moses. Housed the Glory of the Lord and His Presence. God's Presence left when they used the Ark like a superstitious battering ram.
- The Temple, prep for by Moses and led by Solomon. Housed the Glory of the Lord and His Presence. God's Presence left during the final captivity.
- The second temple after captivity. No evidence of the Glory of the Lord presence.
- The temple of Herod's age. Enjoyed the temporary presence of God in the person of Jesus. Jesus left the temple.
- The Millennial Temple, as described by Ezekiel. (the sacrifices are mysterious, post Jesus)
- The Eternal Temple.
Just found that interesting.
The Lord is Sovereign and holds even the future closely in hand. Hallelujah and Amen.