Vision of the Final Temple
Text Ezekiel 40-42 Time 18/01/09 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church
Some while ago (at the end of 2006) we began a series of studies in the Book of Ezekiel. It's not an easy book but it was good to look at Ezekiel's visions and his other prophecies together. Most recently I preached (near the end of 2008) on Chapters 38, 39. I've now preached some 30 sermons and we have just 9 chapters left, 40-48. These chapters contain one continuous vision and form the glorious climax to the book. However, there are two problems with them
1. Reading and understanding them. It is not the easiest sort of literature to read. There are a lot of figures and other details. It is far from being exciting stuff and some of it is quite tedious.
2. Understanding their meaning. This is rightly considered to be one of the most difficult parts of Scripture. Matthew Henry says that the Jews wouldn't allow anyone to read it until they were 30 years old. They also would say, he says, that though you can't understand everything in it, when Elijah comes he will explain it!
Many commentators have had to confess themselves at a loss as to what to make of these chapters and how to apply them but just because it is hard to read and understand I don't think we should simply ignore it. This is God's Word and we ought to humbly study it, seeking to understand it as best we can and get as much out from it as we can. As we do so perhaps we ought to do as Matthew Henry suggests and thank God that salvation does not depend on it. How to be saved is a very simple thing. Not like these chapters at all!
Ezekiel 40-48 can be divided into six sections.
1. Reading and understanding them. It is not the easiest sort of literature to read. There are a lot of figures and other details. It is far from being exciting stuff and some of it is quite tedious.
2. Understanding their meaning. This is rightly considered to be one of the most difficult parts of Scripture. Matthew Henry says that the Jews wouldn't allow anyone to read it until they were 30 years old. They also would say, he says, that though you can't understand everything in it, when Elijah comes he will explain it!
Many commentators have had to confess themselves at a loss as to what to make of these chapters and how to apply them but just because it is hard to read and understand I don't think we should simply ignore it. This is God's Word and we ought to humbly study it, seeking to understand it as best we can and get as much out from it as we can. As we do so perhaps we ought to do as Matthew Henry suggests and thank God that salvation does not depend on it. How to be saved is a very simple thing. Not like these chapters at all!
Ezekiel 40-48 can be divided into six sections.
In Chapters 40-42 we have the vision of the glorious temple itself.
In Chapter 43 we read of how God's glory comes to the Temple and he takes possession of it.
In Chapter 44 there are orders concerning the priests who are to minister in the Temple.
In Chapter 45 we have the division of the land and
In Chapter 46 further instructions for Ezekiel and the people.
Finally (Chapters 47 and 48) we have the vision of the holy waters and the borders of the holy land, the portions assigned to the tribes and the dimensions and gates of the holy city.
Today we plan to cover Chapters 40-42. These chapters are really preparatory. They set the scene for the glory of Chapter 43. Don't forget that we are heading for 43:2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.
Today we plan to cover Chapters 40-42. These chapters are really preparatory. They set the scene for the glory of Chapter 43. Don't forget that we are heading for 43:2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.
I have four things to say to you.
1. Some helpful things to remember about Ezekiel 40-48
1. Ezekiel's Temple is not literal
1. Some helpful things to remember about Ezekiel 40-48
1. Ezekiel's Temple is not literal
It's not Solomon's Temple, wonderful as it was, nor the Temple built when they returned from the exile, nor Herod's Temple that was being built in the time of Jesus. No this is clearly an ideal temple, a spiritual one – the very dimensions show that (the new temple is bigger than all the old Jerusalem and the new Jerusalem bigger than all of Canaan). Further, this Temple is ready built and full of glory. There is a general drift in Scripture from a more outward and physical to a more inward and spiritual expression of religion and that fits with this view. Sometimes people say 'You don't take the Bible literally do you?' The truth is we read it, in many ways, like any other book. Where it seems to be literal we read it literally and where it is spiritual we seek to take it spiritually.
2. Ezekiel's vision anticipates Revelation 21, 22
2. Ezekiel's vision anticipates Revelation 21, 22
We can't go into this now but it is helpful to note how the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation (21, 22) undoubtedly have these chapters in mind. In Revelation 20 we are warned of Antichrist then comes the glorious end. In Ezekiel it is the same - first the warning chapters 38, 39 then these glorious and uplifting ones, 40-48.
3. There are no boring subjects
3. There are no boring subjects
Some of you know I like to blog on the Internet. One blog is devoted to my favourite band Focus. I go through the different songs, song by song, giving background, different instruments used, style, etc. It's pretty tedious reading for most people but I like it. The vision as given may seem dull and irrelevant to us but remember that Ezekiel was a priest and that in ancient Israel, until the exile, religious life revolved around the Temple.
4. Ezekiel's basic message
4. Ezekiel's basic message
One writer says that although these chapters are not light reading, they “carry the message of hope to its climax”. The purpose of the vision appears to be twofold
1 To reassure the exiles they had a future. They would not only return to the land, as often promised in the book, but would worship God there in his house. They wouldn't have a King as before but they'd have a prince or ruler to encourage the worship of God and be himself an example of diligent attendance on it. Prince, priests and people would be comfortably settled in their own land.
2 To encourage them to look beyond this to a greater, more glorious future - a future now already begun. They are encouraged to expect the coming of Messiah and the setting up of a new temple, a spiritual temple – today's gospel church, the glory of which far outshines that of Solomon's Temple and which will go on until Christ's return. Old Testament types (temple, altar, priests, sacrifices) point to the sort of spiritual worship characteristic of the gospel day in which we now are. E J Young has the heading “The vision of the church of God upon earth symbolised by the description of the Temple”.
2. Two observations on the opening verses of the section
1. God's timing
Ezekiel 40 begins with an announcement of the date of the vision - the 25th year of our exile says Ezekiel at the beginning of the year, on the 10th of the month, in the 14th year after the fall of the city - on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me and he took me there to Jerusalem. Some had been taken into exile earlier so this was near the midpoint of the 70 year exile God's people endured. Just at the lowest point a great word of encouragement comes, as so often, from God.
2. God's messengers
Ezekiel explains how God took him back to Israel again and set him on a very high mountain, (another pointer to this not being a literal Temple – these were on Zion, a hill) on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. In Revelation 21 we read that there is no Temple in New Jerusalem for God is there and here the whole city is a Temple. Here Ezekiel sees a man whose appearance was like bronze stood in the gateway holding a tape measure and a ruler. We learn (40:5) that the ruler was marked with a special unit. Each of its six cubits were long cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. The man could be an angel but it is probably a Theophany of Christ himself. He's the one doing the measuring – the one who shows the dimensions of this glorious vision for us. He tells Ezekiel to look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you. That's why Ezekiel was there - to take in the vision then pass it on. That's what prophets did and what, in a lesser way, preachers are to do. Having looked and listened and paid attention I now seek to tell you everything.
3. A survey of 40:5-42:20
The Temple consisted of a covered area surrounded by two U-shaped courtyards, outer and inner.
The outer court is described first. It lay inside (40:5) a square wall (10' X 10') completely surrounding the temple area. It had three gates, which are all measured - first the east gate (40:6-16) then the north (40:20-23) and the south (40:24-27). Each identical gate has seven steps up to it, then a threshold and inside the wall six small alcoves for the guards, three a side, with a portico, porch or covered entrance beyond that. There are (40:16) narrow parapet openings like the openings in castle towers everywhere and the faces of the projecting walls are decorated with palm trees. The outer court (40:17-19) or lower pavement formed a U-shape round the inner court (which we come to in 40:28). Around 4½ acres in size, this covered pavement ran along the outer wall and included 30 rooms for worshippers, 10 on each side, five either side of each outer gate.
The inner court is described next and mention is made of the altar which was in front of the Temple. The inner court is about ¾ of an acre, again U-shaped and contained within the outer court. Once again there are three gates to this court. Ezekiel is led through the south one which is also measured. Like the previous gates these identical gates into the inner court also have alcoves, projecting walls and a portico but are a mirror version of the outer ones. They are also higher, 8 steps led up to them. In the case of each of the inner gateways (40:38) A room with a doorway was by the portico ... where the burnt offerings were washed. In each of these gateways were 8 tables on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings were slaughtered ... There were also 4 identical tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings. On them Ezekiel sees utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. Next to these northern and southern inner gateways are 2 rooms. Ezekiel is told (40:45, 46) that one is for the priests involved in the regular Temple work, the other for the priests who have charge of the altar that is (40:47) the sons of Zadok, ... the only Levites allowed to draw near to the LORD to minister before him.
Next, the Temple itself. Its portico or vestibule is spoken of in 40:48, 49. Again, it is a large and grand affair with projecting walls, etc. It was reached by a flight of stairs, and there were pillars on each side of the jambs (gateposts) - higher again then. In Chapter 41 Ezekiel is brought into the Temple itself. It is in two parts, with an inner room, half the size of the first - the Most Holy Place. Next the walls are measured and the side rooms. There are 30 of these on three levels, each slightly wider than the one below. Staircases connect the levels and there are entrances north and south. In 41:8 Ezekiel says I saw that the temple had a raised base all round it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. Once again measurements are given. There is a 20 cubit wide strip between these side rooms and the priests' rooms. In 41:12 we read of another thick walled building facing the temple courtyard on the west side ... 70 cubits wide and 90 cubits long, alongside the sanctuary. All of these are covered in wood. 41:17-20 describes how carved cherubim and palm trees featured everywhere. Each cherub had 2 faces: the face of a man towards the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion towards the palm tree on the other. They were carved all round the whole temple. At the end of Chapter 41 we are told about the two rectangular wooden doors and a wooden altar. The man (41:22) tells Ezekiel This is the table that is before the LORD. Further detail refers to the intricate carving on the doors and other parts of the Temple.
Chapter 42 is about the rooms for the priests back in the outer court and opposite the temple courtyard and ... the outer wall on the north side. Again on three levels, the rooms included galleries or corridors so were narrower on succeeding levels. Also no pillars were used. The lower rooms could also be entered from the east. Matching rooms were found on the south side. Ezekiel is told (43:12, 13) The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests' rooms, where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings - the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings - for the place is holy. There is also detail here about how the priests are not to leave the temple wearing their ephods.
The final verses of Chapter 42 give the overall measurements for the Temple itself showing its perfect symmetry. Mention is made of the very outer wall, to separate the holy from the common.
4. Lessons to learn from these verses
If we take the view then that these chapters are pointing us forward to the New Testament era in which we live then what are the lessons that are to be learned here? There are at least five.
1. Recognise the importance of exclusivity and holiness
As you read about this Temple, it sounds more like a fortress than a Temple. It seems a rather forbidding place with places for guards and you have to go through several rooms to get to the heart of it. The thick walls seem to shout – keep out! And that is part of our heritage. In the gospel there is a sharp division that we need to maintain between those who are inside and those who are outside. We are not to be unloving to anyone but we must make clear gospel distinctions. You are either for Jesus or against him and if you are for him you must live a life of strict holiness. Keep separate the holy from the common.
2. Appreciate the detailed perfection of God's plans for his people
If you look carefully at these measurements, which are so exact, you will see the perfect dimensions employed. It is a little like the perfect cube mentioned in Revelation especially in that summing up at the end of Chapter 42 (verses 16-19) He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 50 hundred cubits. He measured the north side; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. He measured the south side; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. All this speaks of God's meticulous plans for his people, plans that cannot fail, plans that are perfect in every way. They don't always appear to be so to us but they certainly are. Be assured that God's perfect plan is in operation.
3. See the centrality of worship
This whole edifice is for the worship of God, for his praise and honour. New Testament worship is in spirit and in truth and is to be so characterised. If we want an idea of its grandeur and greatness, its glory then we only have to read chapters like this. Cathedrals are wonderful places but they do not begin to match what we read of here. Do you worship God? Do you have a sense of his greatness and majesty? We ought to.
4. Consider the beauty of holy worship
When we read of the cherubim of heaven and the palm trees of earth all over this Temple and when we read of its great and symmetrical dimensions, it is clear that this is a beautiful Temple. This should lead us not to try and make a Temple just as beautiful (as some assume) but to see the beauty in holiness and true worship. Holiness and simple worship can be pictured as such horrible things but in truth they are not. There is a beauty about simple holy living and simple New Testament worship that cannot be matched. Have you seen this? Is such beauty known in your life?
5. Observe the focus on sacrifice and forgiveness
The ancient Tabernacle and Temple resembled something of an abattoir when they were fully functioning. There was blood everywhere with sacrifices going on all the time. In many ways it is quite an unpleasant thing. Ezekiel's vision does not shy away from that. Although nothing is actually happening at this point the place is clearly designed for sacrifice. He even sees the tables where the sacrifices are to be slaughtered and (40:42, 43) the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth long, ... attached to the wall all around. In heaven sacrifice will not be necessary but here on earth there is the need to look to Christ and his sacrifice (symbolised by the Old Testament sacrifices) for forgiveness and to live sacrificial lives in God's service. May the Lord help us to live so.
1 To reassure the exiles they had a future. They would not only return to the land, as often promised in the book, but would worship God there in his house. They wouldn't have a King as before but they'd have a prince or ruler to encourage the worship of God and be himself an example of diligent attendance on it. Prince, priests and people would be comfortably settled in their own land.
2 To encourage them to look beyond this to a greater, more glorious future - a future now already begun. They are encouraged to expect the coming of Messiah and the setting up of a new temple, a spiritual temple – today's gospel church, the glory of which far outshines that of Solomon's Temple and which will go on until Christ's return. Old Testament types (temple, altar, priests, sacrifices) point to the sort of spiritual worship characteristic of the gospel day in which we now are. E J Young has the heading “The vision of the church of God upon earth symbolised by the description of the Temple”.
2. Two observations on the opening verses of the section
1. God's timing
Ezekiel 40 begins with an announcement of the date of the vision - the 25th year of our exile says Ezekiel at the beginning of the year, on the 10th of the month, in the 14th year after the fall of the city - on that very day the hand of the LORD was upon me and he took me there to Jerusalem. Some had been taken into exile earlier so this was near the midpoint of the 70 year exile God's people endured. Just at the lowest point a great word of encouragement comes, as so often, from God.
2. God's messengers
Ezekiel explains how God took him back to Israel again and set him on a very high mountain, (another pointer to this not being a literal Temple – these were on Zion, a hill) on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. In Revelation 21 we read that there is no Temple in New Jerusalem for God is there and here the whole city is a Temple. Here Ezekiel sees a man whose appearance was like bronze stood in the gateway holding a tape measure and a ruler. We learn (40:5) that the ruler was marked with a special unit. Each of its six cubits were long cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. The man could be an angel but it is probably a Theophany of Christ himself. He's the one doing the measuring – the one who shows the dimensions of this glorious vision for us. He tells Ezekiel to look with your eyes and hear with your ears and pay attention to everything I am going to show you. That's why Ezekiel was there - to take in the vision then pass it on. That's what prophets did and what, in a lesser way, preachers are to do. Having looked and listened and paid attention I now seek to tell you everything.
3. A survey of 40:5-42:20
The Temple consisted of a covered area surrounded by two U-shaped courtyards, outer and inner.
The outer court is described first. It lay inside (40:5) a square wall (10' X 10') completely surrounding the temple area. It had three gates, which are all measured - first the east gate (40:6-16) then the north (40:20-23) and the south (40:24-27). Each identical gate has seven steps up to it, then a threshold and inside the wall six small alcoves for the guards, three a side, with a portico, porch or covered entrance beyond that. There are (40:16) narrow parapet openings like the openings in castle towers everywhere and the faces of the projecting walls are decorated with palm trees. The outer court (40:17-19) or lower pavement formed a U-shape round the inner court (which we come to in 40:28). Around 4½ acres in size, this covered pavement ran along the outer wall and included 30 rooms for worshippers, 10 on each side, five either side of each outer gate.
The inner court is described next and mention is made of the altar which was in front of the Temple. The inner court is about ¾ of an acre, again U-shaped and contained within the outer court. Once again there are three gates to this court. Ezekiel is led through the south one which is also measured. Like the previous gates these identical gates into the inner court also have alcoves, projecting walls and a portico but are a mirror version of the outer ones. They are also higher, 8 steps led up to them. In the case of each of the inner gateways (40:38) A room with a doorway was by the portico ... where the burnt offerings were washed. In each of these gateways were 8 tables on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings were slaughtered ... There were also 4 identical tables of dressed stone for the burnt offerings. On them Ezekiel sees utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. Next to these northern and southern inner gateways are 2 rooms. Ezekiel is told (40:45, 46) that one is for the priests involved in the regular Temple work, the other for the priests who have charge of the altar that is (40:47) the sons of Zadok, ... the only Levites allowed to draw near to the LORD to minister before him.
Next, the Temple itself. Its portico or vestibule is spoken of in 40:48, 49. Again, it is a large and grand affair with projecting walls, etc. It was reached by a flight of stairs, and there were pillars on each side of the jambs (gateposts) - higher again then. In Chapter 41 Ezekiel is brought into the Temple itself. It is in two parts, with an inner room, half the size of the first - the Most Holy Place. Next the walls are measured and the side rooms. There are 30 of these on three levels, each slightly wider than the one below. Staircases connect the levels and there are entrances north and south. In 41:8 Ezekiel says I saw that the temple had a raised base all round it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. Once again measurements are given. There is a 20 cubit wide strip between these side rooms and the priests' rooms. In 41:12 we read of another thick walled building facing the temple courtyard on the west side ... 70 cubits wide and 90 cubits long, alongside the sanctuary. All of these are covered in wood. 41:17-20 describes how carved cherubim and palm trees featured everywhere. Each cherub had 2 faces: the face of a man towards the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion towards the palm tree on the other. They were carved all round the whole temple. At the end of Chapter 41 we are told about the two rectangular wooden doors and a wooden altar. The man (41:22) tells Ezekiel This is the table that is before the LORD. Further detail refers to the intricate carving on the doors and other parts of the Temple.
Chapter 42 is about the rooms for the priests back in the outer court and opposite the temple courtyard and ... the outer wall on the north side. Again on three levels, the rooms included galleries or corridors so were narrower on succeeding levels. Also no pillars were used. The lower rooms could also be entered from the east. Matching rooms were found on the south side. Ezekiel is told (43:12, 13) The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests' rooms, where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings - the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings - for the place is holy. There is also detail here about how the priests are not to leave the temple wearing their ephods.
The final verses of Chapter 42 give the overall measurements for the Temple itself showing its perfect symmetry. Mention is made of the very outer wall, to separate the holy from the common.
4. Lessons to learn from these verses
If we take the view then that these chapters are pointing us forward to the New Testament era in which we live then what are the lessons that are to be learned here? There are at least five.
1. Recognise the importance of exclusivity and holiness
As you read about this Temple, it sounds more like a fortress than a Temple. It seems a rather forbidding place with places for guards and you have to go through several rooms to get to the heart of it. The thick walls seem to shout – keep out! And that is part of our heritage. In the gospel there is a sharp division that we need to maintain between those who are inside and those who are outside. We are not to be unloving to anyone but we must make clear gospel distinctions. You are either for Jesus or against him and if you are for him you must live a life of strict holiness. Keep separate the holy from the common.
2. Appreciate the detailed perfection of God's plans for his people
If you look carefully at these measurements, which are so exact, you will see the perfect dimensions employed. It is a little like the perfect cube mentioned in Revelation especially in that summing up at the end of Chapter 42 (verses 16-19) He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 50 hundred cubits. He measured the north side; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. He measured the south side; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. Then he turned to the west side and measured; it was 50 hundred cubits by the measuring rod. All this speaks of God's meticulous plans for his people, plans that cannot fail, plans that are perfect in every way. They don't always appear to be so to us but they certainly are. Be assured that God's perfect plan is in operation.
3. See the centrality of worship
This whole edifice is for the worship of God, for his praise and honour. New Testament worship is in spirit and in truth and is to be so characterised. If we want an idea of its grandeur and greatness, its glory then we only have to read chapters like this. Cathedrals are wonderful places but they do not begin to match what we read of here. Do you worship God? Do you have a sense of his greatness and majesty? We ought to.
4. Consider the beauty of holy worship
When we read of the cherubim of heaven and the palm trees of earth all over this Temple and when we read of its great and symmetrical dimensions, it is clear that this is a beautiful Temple. This should lead us not to try and make a Temple just as beautiful (as some assume) but to see the beauty in holiness and true worship. Holiness and simple worship can be pictured as such horrible things but in truth they are not. There is a beauty about simple holy living and simple New Testament worship that cannot be matched. Have you seen this? Is such beauty known in your life?
5. Observe the focus on sacrifice and forgiveness
The ancient Tabernacle and Temple resembled something of an abattoir when they were fully functioning. There was blood everywhere with sacrifices going on all the time. In many ways it is quite an unpleasant thing. Ezekiel's vision does not shy away from that. Although nothing is actually happening at this point the place is clearly designed for sacrifice. He even sees the tables where the sacrifices are to be slaughtered and (40:42, 43) the utensils for slaughtering the burnt offerings and the other sacrifices. And double-pronged hooks, each a handbreadth long, ... attached to the wall all around. In heaven sacrifice will not be necessary but here on earth there is the need to look to Christ and his sacrifice (symbolised by the Old Testament sacrifices) for forgiveness and to live sacrificial lives in God's service. May the Lord help us to live so.
