Ezekiel's Temple: God's Millennial Temple

[Guest shiloh357]

Ezekiel's Temple:  God's Millennial Temple
 

This study, as the title suggests will embark on a study of the temple of Ezekiel.   It will be stated at the outset that this study is predicated on the view that this will be a literal Temple that will exist in the restored Land of Israel during Jesus' millennial reign.

Please note that this is not rapture or millennium debate thread/study.  I am not going to entertain such discussions on this thread and any posts about the rapture or attempts to discredit the millennial reign of Christ will not only be ignored, but reported to the moderators.  Do not hi-jack this thread to talk about something else.

Ezekiel The Prophet

 

His name means, "God makes strong."  We know from 1:3 that Ezekiel was the son of Buzi and that he was a priest, meaning is father was a priest as well.  Thus we know that Ezekiel was a Levite.  So it makes sense that he would be the one who would receive the vision of the millennial temple.   As a priest, Ezekiel would have been very familiar with the priestly duties in the temple.  He was likely trained in many aspects of temple life.   He would have been trained in how to perform and offer sacrifices of every kind used in the temple.  He would have been familiar with the laws regarding hygiene and how to deal with the various and sundry diseases of that time period.  He would have been very familiar with the festival cycle as it relates to the temple offerings and other requirements.  He would have been a student of the Torah and competent to teach Torah. 

His vision in 1:1-2 was in the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin (II Kings 24: 12-15). Scholars believe that Ezekiel about 30 years old when he received his first vision in chapter one and the vision of temple of temple was in the 25 year of their captivity (40: 1).   This would be 14th  year after the city of Jerusalem was finally destroyed during the 11th year of the  reign of Zedekiah. Several waves of  captives were taken to Babylon before the full and final destruction of Jerusalem.  The city was destroyed in 586.  So the 14th year after the city was destroyed  is 572.  So, Ezekiel is given the vision in chapter 40-48 during the 25th year of their captivity in Babylon which is also the 14th year after the city was destroyed.  

He was brought by means of a vision to the Land of Israel and set upon the top of a high mountain and he could look down and see the frame of a city  (40: 2)  In vv. 3-4, Ezekiel encounters  man with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand.   The rod is a measuring tool that is six cubits long and the line of flax is a cord that is one cubit long.  This is important because it helps to make the argument that this is going to be a literal temple structure that will one day sit in Israel during the millennial reign of Christ.

More to come....

[Guest shiloh357]

It is important at this point to discuss what the Bible says about a future temple during the millennial reign of Christ.  If Ezekiel 40-48 was all that the Bible had to say about this future temple, it would make it far more difficult to demonstrate that it will be a literal temple structure.   There are plenty of passages in the Bible that indicate that a future temple, a temple that is still future from our modern perspective, will be established by the Lord in His Land.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.   (Isa 2:1-4)

The parallel passage for this is found in the book of Micah:

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  (Mic 4:1-3)

This is a prophecy about the last days.  This is really about the last of the last days because both prophets speak of a time when all of the nations will flow into the house of the Lord.  This house is a temple that the Lord will establish and according to this passage, He will be present in it.  This will be during the millennium when the whole world's population will likely be localized around the temple.  Isaiah tells us that the Torah will go forth from it and the Lord will teach us His ways.  He will judge the nations and there will be no more war during that time period of Messianic peace.  Isaiah and Micah nowhere present this as anything but an actual temple. There is nothing in those passages that give us any reason to think they were speaking of something that was only abstract theologically, or that it a figurative object.

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jer 3:16-17)

This does not describe the people of Israel at any time post Jeremiah, up to this point.  People are still looking for the Ark of the Covenant.   But here we see that there will come a time that things will be so much better that they will forget about it or at least no longer desire the Ark.  Notice that Jerusalem will bear the title as "the throne of the Lord.  Again, we see here as we also see in Isaiah and Micah, that all nations will be coming to   to Jerusalem. The point is that Jerusalem will in some way represent God's throne at that time.

Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.  (Zec 6:10-15)

"The Branch"  is a term used elsewhere in the Bible as a title for the Messiah and here He is spoken as the one who will build the temple of the Lord and he shall rule upon His throne.  At the time this prophecy was given, the Temple of Zerubbabel has already been built.  So Zechariah is speaking to a time in the future beyond the 2nd Temple Period.

Some might ask, "Wouldn't this be a prophecy of the Church since the Church is referenced in the NT using temple imagery?   The problem with that is two-fold.  For one, the NT does not reference this prophecy as being fulfilled in the Church.   The NT is always careful (under the Holy Spirit's inspiration)  to always reference fulfilled prophecy.  Yet the Church's existence is never referenced as being fulfilled according to the words spoken by the prophets.  The second problem is that there are no OT prophecies about the Church age.   The OT prophets never mention a "church age."  It was a mystery that was not revealed to anyone but the Apostles.

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.   But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. (Mal 3:1-4)

Here, we have a reference to both the first and second comings of the Messiah, Jesus.  Notice The reference to the messenger, whom most agree was John the Baptist, pointing to the first advent of Jesus.  What we have is a gap between the reference to John and Jesus who will come suddenly to His temple.   It then tells us something of what the second coming will be like.   He will be like a refiner's fire purifying the sons of Levi so that they can offer pleasing sacrifices.   How is that possible?  This clearly states that Jesus is coming to His temple, and that he will restore the Levites so that they can perform their priestly duties in that Temple.

These passages clearly tell us that there is an expectation in the OT that there will be a temple of the Lord in the last days and that will be a literal structure that will exist in the Land of Israel.

　

[George]

12 hours ago, shiloh357 said:

Notice that Jerusalem will bear the title as "the throne of the Lord. 

A side note -- which I'm sure you'll address.  The only object in the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant.  While the "Holy of Holies" isn't mentioned in the Ezekiel Temple, because there is no veil -- thus no "Holy of Holies" like the OT Temple, where the Throne of the Lord is -- is called the "Most Holy Place" and sits where the OT Holy of Holies would be.  So interestingly enough the Jeremiah passage switches from the Ark of the Covenant --> to the Throne!

I'm looking forward to more of this study!

[Guest shiloh357]

 

I said earlier that the measuring rod and cord of flax were going to be important for demonstrating that this will be a literal temple during the millennium.    From Eze. 40:5 to 43: 13-27 and 46: 19-24, Ezekiel and the angel speaking to him are measuring the temple precinct. We have many, many measurements of different areas and chambers of the temple present. I will endeavor to give the measurements in modern terms rather than using the cubits given in the text. The measurements and descriptions of the temple precinct include the following:

The wall around the temple:  875 ft. x 875 ft.   This is nearly the same length as three football fields and 10 ft. high and 10ft thick. (40:5)

The gate to the east is the same thickness of the wall and is the same height. It should be noted that all of the gates are of uniform size and shape.  We also have a room   as we pass through the gate that will be 10 and 1/2 ft. square there are three of these rooms on either side of the gate.  There are also towers that are 60 ft. tall.  We are not told their function.  There is a porch area about 14 ft. long as you exit the gate.  Again, this description of the gated areas are uniform for all of the gates.  (40:6-16)

The are paved areas around the temple.  Ezekiel mentions a "lower pavement" (40:17-27).  There are ten chambers lined up next to each of the north, south and east walls respectively.

The inner court gates are  described 40:28-43.  We also have a description of the tables that will be used for the preparation of the sacrifices.  The traffic flow in the temple during the millennium will be from a north to south direction.  The Messiah will use the eastern gate.  That gate will be open to everyone on holidays.  Otherwise it will remain closed except for the Messiah Y'shua/Jesus to enter and exit.

The inner court is 175 ft. x 175 ft. (40:44-47)

Eze. 40:48-41: 26 gives us a description of the temple.  Not going to go into all of those details, because it would make this post double or triple in size, but there are numerous details given.

In 42: 1-14 there are two buildings described possibly where the priests will dine (v. 13)

43:13-27 gives a description of the altar of burnt offering, the ONLY piece of temple furniture that is similar to the first and second temples.  Finally in 46: 19-24 we have the kitchens described and they will be where the portions of the sacrifices to be eaten will be boiled/cooked.

 

Now the point of briefly through the descriptions and measurement of the various areas of the temple in Ezkekiel is to highlight why it cannot be a figurative or metaphorical temple.  Visions and measurements of this kind of intricate detail do not accompany any kind of figurative devices.  Otherwise, you would need to come up with a theological or metaphorical explanation for every measurement and description of every part of the temple precinct in chapters 40-43 and it is impossible for us to supply that since it is not supplied by the text.

These intricate measurements and description stand as evidence against the argument that this will not be literal temple structure.

 

More To come

[Guest shiloh357]

There has been a lot of discussion as to whether or not Ezekiel's temple is historical.   The evidence given in Scripture does not support this to have been a historical temple.  

As has been noted in previous post, the temple precinct is far too large.  It is 875 ft. square.   That is nearly 300 yards wide and 300 yards long.   That would not only be larger the Temple mount in Jerusalem today, but it would encompass most of the Old City of Jerusalem, to boot.  That fact, on its own, precludes this from being a historical temple. 

If you read the text of Ezekiel 48: 8-22 and the tribal allotments, you will notice that unlike the other historical temples, this temple will not be located in Jerusalem, but will have its own area between Judah and Benjamin.

Notice in chapter 47: 1-12  that there is a river that flows from this temple, but no such river flowed from any of the other temples.

These facts are indisputable and mitigate against the claims of those who state that Ezekiel's temple is historical.

Having said that, ample evidence has been provided above in a previous post as the view that this temple is future. 

 

[Guest shiloh357]

Alternate Views

There are some alternate interpretation in the Church as to what Ezekiel's temple really is.   Some have offered the notion that this is a post exilic temple, but we previously noted that the dimensions simply do not allow for Ezekiel's temple on the Temple mount.  Also Ezekiel's temple will be built by the Messiah and His throne will be in that temple.  None of the other temples were built by the Messiah.

Another view offered by some is that Ezekiel's temple is a picture of the church age.  This approach amounts to mere allegorization.  Not only that, but there are no OT prophecies of the Church.  The Church was a mystery hidden in God until he revealed it in the New Testament.   Not only that, but the NT never draws on Ezekiel's temple to illustrate the Church in any fashion or form.

Some have offered up the view that this is a prophecy  of the New Heavens and New Earth.   But as we read in Revelation 21-22, there is no temple in the New Heavens and New Earth and there are no seas.   The dimensions of the Land of Israel during the millennium are set off by 17 landmarks in Ezekiel 48.  Not only that but the city in Rev. 21 has different dimensions and the water flows from a different place in Revelation 22.

Every attempt to make this a figurative temple fails when one examines the text closely.   There really is no basis for accepting this as anything other than a real temple structure that will exist at some point in the future, namely the millennial reign of Christ.

 

[Kan]

It is interesting that the entrance to each gate of this precinct or building is 144 cubits deep, which happens to be the height of the wall of the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation. The archways are also very high. The building of the wall of the New Jerusalem is square, the depth and height are the same, much the same as the walls to the enclosure of Ezekiel's vision temple.

What puzzled me is that this description of the temple is, like you said, is much larger than anything we have had or planned on earth for such a building. So it seems that this experience in vision for Ezekiel was about the future, or perhaps even a plan for Israel at the time, which did not eventuate.

I believe in the latter, because it gives the details of the sacrificial arrangements and offerings by a priesthood which clearly belongs to an earthly service, and since this service ended with the death of Christ, it seems possible that the vision will never be fulfilled on that account at least.

Paul goes into great lengths to bring the heavenly temple to our view, where Jesus is the one and only officiating priest. Maybe God intended Israel to build such a temple long before the Messiah's arrival, and that it was to be a replica of the one in heaven.

I have read of some traditional Jewish ideas of heaven, and they mention buildings as large as this one, and even larger. Some have estimated that this temple is 400 meters long, and lies in an enclosure with a 6 kilometer circumference.

What I find fascinating, is that a river comes out from this temple, and flows into a garden where we find the tree of life with its twelve fruits. From what I have collected over the years on this topic, the vision of Ezekiel is almost identical to heaven.

Another thing is that the wall which surrounds the temple measures one reed high, which only comes up to shoulder height of an angel. You and I would not have been able to look over that wall, about 4 meters high, and like Ezekiel would have to go through the gates to see anything.

[Guest shiloh357]

2 hours ago, Kan said:

It is interesting that the entrance to each gate of this precinct or building is 144 cubits deep, which happens to be the height of the wall of the New Jerusalem as described in Revelation. The archways are also very high. The building of the wall of the New Jerusalem is square, the depth and height are the same, much the same as the walls to the enclosure of Ezekiel's vision temple.

What puzzled me is that this description of the temple is, like you said, is much larger than anything we have had or planned on earth for such a building. So it seems that this experience in vision for Ezekiel was about the future, or perhaps even a plan for Israel at the time, which did not eventuate.

I believe in the latter, because it gives the details of the sacrificial arrangements and offerings by a priesthood which clearly belongs to an earthly service, and since this service ended with the death of Christ, it seems possible that the vision will never be fulfilled on that account at least.

 

Nope, the temple will be built by the Messiah and it will one day stand in the restored Israel of the millennium.  It ill be fulfilled exactly as described.  The sacrifices provide no barrier to that happening.

[Guest shiloh357]

Ezekiel's Temple and Theological Implications for Israel

The literal interpretation Ezekiel's Temple carries some theological implications that tend to make many Christians uncomfortable and I am not even talking about the sacrificial system, at this point.  I will get into that in the next post.

What we clearly have is a temple structure that has never existed before, is not existing now and cannot exist in the New Heavens and New Earth.  The only place it will fit is in the millennial reign of the Messiah.   It will be the fourth temple built in Israel.   Currently, there is a campaign in process to build the third temple, the temple the anti-Christ will defile.

But what does a literal temple during the millennial reign of the Messiah in Israel mean for us from a theological standpoint.  The temple of Ezekiel as outlined in chapters 40-48 of the book of Ezekiel will stand as the vindication of the prophets who spoke of it.   We covered in a previous posts some of the various references to a future temple in the last days.  It also vindicates all of the promises of God to restore Israel and to finally and fully bring to realization and fulfillment all of the promises God made to Israel.   It disproves all of the commentators and scholars who attempt to discredit modern Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy and who claim that God has no prophetic plan for Israel.    It disproves the purveyors of Replacement Theology who declare that God is done with biblical Israel and has replaced her with the Church as the "new" or "spiritual" Israel.

I think the most important takeaway from this is the faithfulness of God.   God is faithful to fulfill His promises, all of them.   Israel's lack of faithfulness in Scripture and any of the shortcomings of modern Israel, does not remove any responsibility from God to see His promises come to pass.   It is not because Israel is a spotless lamb, perfect in all her ways, that God is doing this.   It is for the glory of His Name.   His Name will be sanctified among the nations when they see God fulfilling His Word.   And right now, we are in the process of seeing very beginnings of His Word being fulfilled in Israel.   God is doing this and there is no theologian or commentator who can stand against it.  

What that means for us is that if God can be faithful to Israel after all of her failures, then we can be assured that God will not throw us away for our failures.  God is still working with us, just like he is working with Israel.  All of what God has planned for us will happen in His time, just as everything He has planned for Israel will come to pass.  Just as God's Name will be sanctified in Israel's restoration,   His name will be sanctified in us as he guides and restores us.

Academic pride among our theologians is immense.  I can tell you first hand that professors and theologians don't like to be wrong and have a very, very difficult time admitting that their theological positions have been mistaken.   After all, they have spent a great deal of time and money investing in authoring books and peer-reviewed journal articles, building a reputation that garners their respect of their peers.   To have to reverse course when they are finally arriving at the very apex of their field of research is a very painful slam to the pride of a scholar.  Scholarship is more important to theologians than actual truth.  The respect of their peers is far more important to them.

So it is not surprising to me that there is an immense amount of resistance in theological circles to a literal interpretation of Ezekiel 40-48.  But I have shown up to this point, that a literal interpretation is the only one that makes sense given the length of the vision and details that you find, which mitigate against this being nothing more than an allegory or metaphor some other figurative device.

 

[Kan]

1 hour ago, shiloh357 said:

Nope, the temple will be built by the Messiah and it will one day stand in the restored Israel of the millennium.  It ill be fulfilled exactly as described.  The sacrifices provide no barrier to that happening.

I wasn't opposing your view...since it is clear to me that the temple in heaven will be here until the end of the 1000 years. 

41 minutes ago, shiloh357 said:

Ezekiel's Temple and Theological Implications for Israel

The literal interpretation Ezekiel's Temple carries some theological implications that tend to make many Christians uncomfortable and I am not even talking about the sacrificial system, at this point.  I will get into that in the next post.

What we clearly have is a temple structure that has never existed before, is not existing now and cannot exist in the New Heavens and New Earth.  The only place it will fit is in the millennial reign of the Messiah.   It will be the fourth temple built in Israel.   Currently, there is a campaign in process to build the third temple, the temple the anti-Christ will defile.

But what does a literal temple during the millennial reign of the Messiah in Israel mean for us from a theological standpoint.  The temple of Ezekiel as outlined in chapters 40-48 of the book of Ezekiel will stand as the vindication of the prophets who spoke of it.   We covered in a previous posts some of the various references to a future temple in the last days.  It also vindicates all of the promises of God to restore Israel and to finally and fully bring to realization and fulfillment all of the promises God made to Israel.   It disproves all of the commentators and scholars who attempt to discredit modern Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy and who claim that God has no prophetic plan for Israel.    It disproves the purveyors of Replacement Theology who declare that God is done with biblical Israel and has replaced her with the Church as the "new" or "spiritual" Israel.

I think the most important takeaway from this is the faithfulness of God.   God is faithful to fulfill His promises, all of them.   Israel's lack of faithfulness in Scripture and any of the shortcomings of modern Israel, does not remove any responsibility from God to see His promises come to pass.   It is not because Israel is a spotless lamb, perfect in all her ways, that God is doing this.   It is for the glory of His Name.   His Name will be sanctified among the nations when they see God fulfilling His Word.   And right now, we are in the process of seeing very beginnings of His Word being fulfilled in Israel.   God is doing this and there is no theologian or commentator who can stand against it.  

What that means for us is that if God can be faithful to Israel after all of her failures, then we can be assured that God will not throw us away for our failures.  God is still working with us, just like he is working with Israel.  All of what God has planned for us will happen in His time, just as everything He has planned for Israel will come to pass.  Just as God's Name will be sanctified in Israel's restoration,   His name will be sanctified in us as he guides and restores us.

Academic pride among our theologians is immense.  I can tell you first hand that professors and theologians don't like to be wrong and have a very, very difficult time admitting that their theological positions have been mistaken.   After all, they have spent a great deal of time and money investing in authoring books and peer-reviewed journal articles, building a reputation that garners their respect of their peers.   To have to reverse course when they are finally arriving at the very apex of their field of research is a very painful slam to the pride of a scholar.  Scholarship is more important to theologians than actual truth.  The respect of their peers is far more important to them.

So it is not surprising to me that there is an immense amount of resistance in theological circles to a literal interpretation of Ezekiel 40-48.  But I have shown up to this point, that a literal interpretation is the only one that makes sense given the length of the vision and details that you find, which mitigate against this being nothing more than an allegory or metaphor some other figurative device.

 

I don't see any problem with looking at the temple in Ezekiel as literal.

As far as Israel as a chosen nation is concerned, your views are certainly not uncommon, as many, even among Jews, still believe in the physical restoration of Israel on earth.

According to Paul, who knew both sides of those arguments, the promises to Israel were an example of the promises to all who enter the covenant by faith. See Hebrews 11, where the believers died in hope of the future resurrection and restoration of the earth. Verse 39, they did not receive the promise, it was not fulfilled in their time.

There are a class of people today, as there always have been, who are looking for the establishment of an earthly kingdom - be it in the name of God or not. And so the various theories of Christ reigning over the kingdoms of the world are spread abroad. The Jews expected Jesus to get rid of the Roman rule, which He would have done had they honored Him. This same nation which has rejected the Messiah now expects that the promises, which even the saints did not receive, will be fulfilled to them.

If God did not give what was promised to Abraham, He certainly will not set up an earthly utopia for those who rejected Him, and they still reject God by making false assumptions about those promises.

In Revelation, the last book of the Bible it makes it plain that the earth will be destroyed and not made new until the end of the thousand years.

I understand that you wanted to avoid this question, but it is impossible to ignore, since it is connected with the interpretation of the Ezekiel temple, which you have done well in showing how literal it is.

But wanting to avoid an argument on the side lines, you have mentioned the connecting issue of how we view Israel, which then raises the question of whether or not the promises of old are in type of the anti-typical promises in the New Testament. It is a way of saying my way or the highway. Of course I respect that right, and will only respond to what you - yourself have introduced into the thread.

We know the gentiles are to be the benefactors of the things God initially gave Israel, and it would be difficult to prove that the promises of old are not made to all believers in all time, especially, as Paul writes for us "upon whom the ends of the world are come." I Corinthians 10:11. Remember Prophecy foretold that God would give Israel as a nation 490 years of grace. As Jesus said forgive 70 times 7, shedding light on the fact that God has been patient for many years with the nation.

If Israel was to inherit the promises, that the saints did not inherit, even their founding father Abraham did not, then God would not have allowed the destruction of Jerusalem, and her people, in 70 AD, a generation after the time that nation was rejected by God as the chosen one to give the world the message of hope.

The promises of earthly prosperity were real, but conditional as Moses clearly said. The rest is history of good times and bad times. 

I see the vision of Ezekiel one that God had for Israel, a literal kingdom on earth. If God gave the talent to build a temple through David and Solomon, He would have built an even greater one had Israel been faithful.