Chapter xliii.

The plan of the entire temple with its buildings, walls and the surrounding territory having been revealed and fully recorded in the preceding chapters, greater things are now shown to the prophet. It concerns the temple and the service which is to be maintained in this magnificent house of worship. In the present chapter we find first a description of the return of the glory of the Lord to the house, filling the house. This is followed by a message delivered by the Lord; speaking out of the house; the message is addressed to the prophet, who is also to speak to the house of Israel concerning their condition and the law of the house. The dimensions of the great altar are given and how that altar is to be consecrated. This is the first great service in this temple.

I. The Return of the Glory of the Lord.

Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house (verses 1-5).

The man leads him back to the eastern gate through which they had entered first when the house was measured. And here he beholds a startling event. Up to this point the house with it buildings had been seen in silent grandeur. No sound was heard; nothing was seen. But as they stand at the gate toward the east, suddenly the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. Then the voice of Jehovah was heard as the sound of many waters and the earth shined with His glory. The dedication of the house by the return of the Lord with His glory is now to take place. Thus the tabernacle in the wilderness was dedicated (Exodus xl:34-35). "A cloud covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." The same happened when Solomon had finished the temple. "The cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord" (1 Kings viii:10-11; 2 Chron. v:13, 14; vii:1-3). The Lord with His glory entered into these prepared places and in like manner He will enter the great temple Ezekiel beheld in his prophetic vision. Such a return of the glory of the God of Israel to dwell in another temple has not yet taken place. When the returned remnant after the proclamation of Cyrus had rebuilt the temple, no cloud filled the house nor was the glory of the Lord seen. Some apply this vision to the time when our Lord was on earth and that it was fulfilled when He entered the temple. This needs no further refutation, but it shows how much at sea expositors of the Word of God are who reject the future restoration of Israel. When the Lord was on earth He had laid His visible glory by and was rejected by the nation. This vision of glory will be fulfilled when He returns the second time in power and glory; then and never before will this visible glory be displayed and His glory will shine over Israel's land and finally cover the earth as the waters cover the deep.

We must notice here especially that the vision the prophet beheld was "according to the appearance of the vision" he saw before the destruction of the city "the visions were like the visions" which he saw "by the river Chebar." This points back to the first chapter when first by the river Chebar the heavens were opened to Ezekiel the priest, and he saw visions of God. At the close of that chapter we read after the recorded vision, "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." The same vision of glory appeared again to him when Ezekiel had left the river Chebar and gone into the plain (iii:22-23). Then he had witnessed the gradual and solemn departure of the glory of the Lord. "Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight.... They stood at the door of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above" (x:18-19). Then finally the Shekinah went up and disappeared. "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (xi:22).

The similarity of the departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and its future return to the temple of Ezekiel's vision is most interesting. It is the same glory which departed, which returns; it is the same Lord who resumes relationship with His earthly people. The withdrawal of the visible glory of the Lord meant the departure of His gracious presence from among His people, which was followed by judgment. The return of the visible glory means the return of His gracious presence among them and that the judgment, which has lasted so long, is forever gone. The departure of the glory was through the east gate and was finally seen upon the mountain at the east side of the city; the return is from the way of the east and the glory of the Lord enters through the east gate. But it is not only a visible glory, but the Lord Himself is in the Shekinah. Ezekiel beheld above the firmament and the cherubim, when he saw the glory of the Lord at the river Chebar, he heard His voice. And here also His voice is mentioned "like the sound of many waters." From verses 6 and 7 we learn that after the glory had entered the house the Lord addressed the prophet out of the house.

The Lord Himself in all His glory is manifested and enters the temple, the place of His rest and glory. The cherubim will be seen in person and from the New Testament we learn that angels will be with Him also. His glory will then cover Israel's land and the earth. "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light; He had bright beams out of His side[45] and there was the hiding of His power." This is how Habakkuk describes the same manifestation of the glory of the Lord and the coming of the Lord of glory (see Isaiah xl:5; lviii:8; lx:1-2; lxvi:18). Isaiah's great vision may be viewed as foreshadowing this manifestation of His glory. He saw the Lord sitting upon a throne and His train filled the temple. The seraphim cried one unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory. And as the prophet was cleansed and his iniquity taken away and became the messenger of the Lord (Is. vi), so the nation Israel will be cleansed and forgiven and become the messenger of Jehovah.[46]

[45] Marginal reading.

[46] Such an application seems warranted in view of the message Ezekiel received from the Lord to the people (verses 6-12).

When the Spirit had transported the prophet into the inner court of the temple, he discovered that the glory of the Lord filled the house. We repeat it, no such thing happened when the returned Jewish remnant had entered the temple. When the old men, who had seen the Solomonic temple and knew of its glory, beheld the foundation of the second temple they wept (Ezra iii:12). When the house was dedicated no glory returned, no cloud was seen, no shekinah filled the house. Nor is it a spiritual glory, the glory of the church, as so many seem to believe.

But Haggai, who with Zechariah prophesied during the rebuilding of the temple, uttered a significant prophecy while that second house was building--a prophecy which must be linked with Ezekiel's vision of the returning glory: "For thus saith the Lord of Hosts: yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory" (Haggai ii:6-7). This was not the house they were building. It is a future house, a future temple. That house will be built when the heavens and the earth are being shaken, when all nations shake and when the Desire of all nations, the King of glory, the Prince of Peace, our Lord comes. Then this house will be filled with glory.

It will be a visible glory. It will be a permanent glory. He will now dwell gloriously in the midst of the children of Israel (verse 7). This visible glory will be seen over Jerusalem, like as it was of old, a cloud by day and a shining, flaming fire by night. "And Jehovah will create over every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and over its convocations a cloud by day and a smoke and the brightness of a flame of fire by night, for over all the glory shall be a covering" (Is. iv:5).

II. The Voice from the Temple and the Message to Israel.

And I heard one speaking unto me out of the house; and a man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, they, nor their kings, with their fornication, and with the carcases of their kings in their high places. In that they set their threshold by my threshold, and their post by my post, and there was only a wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: and I consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their fornication and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and its goings out, and its comings in, and all its forms, and all the ordinances, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house (verses 6-12).

The Glory of the Lord and the Lord of Glory had entered the house, filling it; and now the voice of one is heard out of the house. The speaker is the Lord Himself, who had made His dwelling place in the temple (see also xlvi:20, 24; xlvii:6, 8). The man who stood by Ezekiel did not speak, as some expositors claim. He is only guide to the prophet (xliv:1, 4; xlvi:19, 21). He is probably not the same person, who as the measuring man had accompanied the prophet, for the Hebrew is not "the man" "stood by me," but "a man." This person, no doubt an angel, is silent, waiting till the Lord has spoken and then leads the prophet from place to place.

The first word which the Lord addressed to Ezekiel from the house is significant: "Son of Man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever." Of old the Lord dwelt in the midst of the children of Israel. Thus we read in the book of Exodus, the book of redemption: "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and I will be their God, and they shall know that I am Jehovah their God that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I may dwell among them" (Ex. xxix:45, 46). And now after the long and sad history of Israel's apostasy, blindness, judgment and dispersion is ended, He comes to make His dwelling place in their midst again and establishes in Jerusalem His throne. Here He will dwell and bless His people. Of this Psalm cxxxii speaks, "This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it." And other prophets announced that the Lord would dwell in Zion in the midst of His people and establish His throne there (Joel iii:17, 21; Zech. ii:10, 11; viii:3, 8). His rest then will be glorious (Is. xi:10). When that time comes and the Lord of Glory has come back to earth again, all the promised blessings for Israel, the nations and for all creation will be realized.

Then His holy name will no longer be defiled and the nation will be ashamed of all their past history of rebellion and abomination.[47] The prophet is therefore commanded to set before the people the house in its measured pattern, so that they might know what a gracious Lord has prepared for them, what He will yet do for His people. It is to lead them to repentance, to acknowledgement of their guilt and shame over their iniquities. Such will be the case in the day of their restoration when these things will be accomplished.

[47] "The carcases of their kings" may either mean that some of their idolatrous kings had been buried within the bounds of the Solomonic temple, or, the word kings may refer to their idols, which had dominion over them (Is. xxvi:13). The latter may be the right meaning for the high place mentioned.

When this house on the top of the mountain is established all will be most holy. His people will be righteous and holy and all Jerusalem with this sanctuary will be holy unto the Lord (Zech. xiv:20-21). This is "the Most Holy" of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. ix) to be anointed when the last prophetic week of seven years has expired.

III. The Measurement and the Ordinances of the Altar.

And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth: The bottom was a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border thereof on the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this was the base of the altar. And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle was two cubits, and the breadth a cubit; and from the small settle to the great settle four cubits, and the breadth a cubit. So the altar was four cubits; and from the hearth of God and upward were four horns. And the hearth of God was twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four sides thereof. And the settle was fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four sides thereof; and the border about it half a cubit; and the bottom thereof a cubit about; and its steps shall look toward the east. And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon. And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord Jehovah, a young bullock for a sin offering. And thou shalt take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. Thou shalt take the bullock of the sin offering, and it shall be burned in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary. And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall purge the altar, as they did purge it with the bullock. When thou hast made an end of purging it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. And thou shalt offer them before Jehovah, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto Jehovah. Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate it. And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord Jehovah (verses 13-27).

The altar which is now described in its measurement, was previously mentioned in chapter xl:47. The altar according to this description, is composed of four square layers (probably stones) one above another, decreasing in extent and increasing in thickness; the top is a square of twelve cubits. This is called "the altar hearth" or "the hearth of God." The three words translated in the authorized version by altar are not the same in the original. In verse 13 the word is "mizbeach." This word is used many times in the Hebrew Bible; it means "slaughter-place." In verse 15 two words are used which are nowhere else found in connection with an altar. The one is "_Harel_" which means "the mountain of God;" and the other "_Ariel_" the meaning of this is different from Ariel in Isa. xxix:1[48] when it is used for Jerusalem as "the lion of God." Gesenius translated it "the hearth," and still better is "the hearth of God." Upward from this hearth were four horns. The Septuagint gives the height of these horns as one cubit each. While in Exodus xx:25 steps are prohibited for the altar, this altar has steps which look toward the east. This great burnt offering altar, standing in the center of the inner court before the house, will be the central place of worship in this future temple.

[48] The word "Ariel" as used in Ezekiel has one more letter than the word in Isaiah xxix.

The ordinances of this burnt offering altar in that future day are given to the prophet, the Lord Jehovah addressing Ezekiel as "Son of Man." Burnt offerings will be brought upon it and blood sprinkled. The priests, the Levites of the seed of Zadok[49] will minister unto the Lord Jehovah. What is first described is a kind of consecration or dedication of this burnt offering altar, after which the general sacrifices begin (verse 27). First a young bullock is brought for a sin offering and the blood is applied to the altar and the four horns. For seven days these offerings for purging and cleansing continue and with the eighth day the burnt offerings and peace offerings are to be made by the people.

[49] Zadok means "just." He was the successor of Abiathar in the priesthood--the son of Ahitub of the family of Eleazar (2 Sam. viii:17; 1 Kings ii:27, 35).

But what do these ordinances mean? Here are priests again standing before an altar, bringing bloody sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings and peace offerings. Is this to be taken literally also? Some expositors have stated that all this had a meaning in the past and could only be true in connection with the second temple. Others attempt to read into it a spiritual meaning. All, or nearly all commentators think it inconceivable that such sacrifices could ever be brought again in a future temple. Those expositors who combat the premillennial coming of the Lord and the literal restoration of Israel, consider the supposed impossibility of a satisfactory explanation of this part of Ezekiel's visions, the collapse of the premillennial argument.

Sacrifices of bulls and goats were brought by Israel in their past history; the Lord commanded His people to do this. Every Christian knows that these sacrifices foreshadowed the work of Christ, His great sacrifice on the Cross. In themselves these sacrifices Israel brought could not take away sins, nor give rest to the conscience, nor could they make the worshipper perfect. The Epistle to the Hebrews demonstrates this fully.

All these sacrifices had a prospective character, looking forward to the work of the Cross. And when the Lamb of God died, when His blessed lips uttered the never-to-be-forgotten words, "It is finished," and God's hand rent the veil from top to bottom, the prospective character of these sacrifices were forever ended. The new and living way into God's presence, into the Holiest, had been made by His blood. During this age Israel has no temple and all their Levitical ordinances can no longer be practised by them. As Hosea declared they are without a sacrifice (Hos. iii:4).

God, during this age, our present age, which began with the rejection of Christ by Israel and ends with His Return, is gathering a heavenly people, the church. The church has for its worship no earthly place, no temple, but worships in spirit and in truth, in a heavenly sanctuary. There are no sacrifices, priests, altars, in connection with the true church, the body of Christ. Christ is all. He is the sacrifice, the priest, and the altar. That the enemy has produced upon Christian ground a ritualism which is aped after the Jewish system and which denies as such the Gospel and Christianity, is well known. They have invented altars, and sacrifices and priests. This is the Judaizing of the church, "the other Gospel which is not another," upon which the Spirit of God has pronounced the curse of God (Gal. i). The day is coming when the Lord will deal in judgment with the apostate church which denies His Son and His work, while His true church will be taken to the place which He has prepared.

When the true church is no longer on earth and the apostate church is left behind to plunge into the great apostasy, then the Jews will partially be restored in unbelief. When they get back to the land they will put up another temple in which they bring again bloody sacrifices. These will be an abomination in the sight of God. Let us hear what Isaiah reveals about this time: "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye will build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will I look, that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomination" (Isaiah lxvi:1-3). The entire last chapter of Isaiah shows that the future is in view. The Jews have returned to their land and have resumed their ancient worship. In their midst is also a believing remnant (verse 5) who suffer and are cast out. The Lord looking down from heaven and beholding the sacrifices they bring despises them, for they are an abomination in His sight, because they reject Christ and His sacrifice. This temple worship will be made possible by the coming prince, the little horn of Daniel vii, who will make a covenant with the unbelieving portion of the nation. In the middle of the last seven years (Dan. ix:26) he will break that covenant. Then appears the beast out of the earth (Rev. xiii:11), the false Messiah, and takes his place in that temple, demanding divine worship, claiming to be God (2 Thess. ii).

At the end of the three and one-half years which constitute the great tribulation, the Lord is suddenly manifested. Of this Isaiah speaks also. The unbelieving Jews sneer at the believing remnant: "Let the Lord be glorified!" The Spirit of God gives them the assurance, "but He shall appear to your joy and they shall be ashamed." "A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompense to His enemies" (verse 6). These words describe His manifestation. After this comes the restoration of Israel. The apostates who worshipped the Beast will be punished. The temple Ezekiel describes will then be built and Israel is now at last the kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod. xix:6). The new covenant promised to them will then be ratified (Jere. xxxi:31-34).

Their great temple will be more than their place of worship; it will be a house of prayer for all nations. Let us listen again to Isaiah's great testimony. "The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath[50] from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them (Gentiles) will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord God who gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto Him" (Is. lvi:6-8). All this has nothing to do with the church or the present dispensation of grace. It is a prophecy of the kingdom, the age to come, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

[50] The sects, like Seventh Day Baptists, Adventists, etc., quote this passage. They are utterly wrong for this has nothing whatever to do with the present age.

So let us understand that the millennial temple will be the great center of earthly worship during the reign of the King of Kings. In that temple sacrifices will be brought again. The ancient worship of Israel will be resumed and that in a way as Israel never enjoyed it in the past. To deny the literalness of these sacrifices does violence to the Word of God. Ezekiel is not the only prophet who tells us of this. One of the strongest passages is found in Jeremiah. Speaking of the coming reign of Christ, Jeremiah tells us, "In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness. For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. Neither shall the priests, the Levites want a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually" (Jere. xxxiii:15-18). Why then should it be an impossible thing that literal sacrifices are brought again?

But what is the meaning and the purpose of these animal sacrifices? The answer is quite simple. While the sacrifices Israel brought once had a prospective meaning, the sacrifices brought in the millennial temple have a retrospective meaning. When during this age God's people worship in the appointed way at His table, with the bread and wine as the memorial of His love, it is a retrospect. We look back to the Cross. We show forth His death. It is "till He comes." Then this memorial feast ends forever. Never again will the Lord's Supper be kept after the Saints of God have left the earth to be with the Lord in glory. The resumed sacrifices will be the memorial of the Cross and the whole wonderful story of the redemption for Israel and the nations of the earth, during the kingdom reign of Christ. And what a memorial it will be! What a meaning these sacrifices will have! They will bring to a living remembrance everything of the past. The retrospect will produce the greatest scene of worship, of praise and adoration this earth has ever seen. All the Cross meant and the Cross has accomplished will be recalled and a mighty "Hallelujah Chorus" will fill the earth and the heavens. The sacrifices will constantly remind the peoples of the earth of Him who died for Israel, who paid the redemption price for all creation and whose glory now covers the earth as the waters cover the deep. And above in the New Jerusalem, where the throne of the Lamb is, the Saints in glory sing their Hallelujah (Ps. cxlix:5).

I. The Outer Eastern Gate and the Prince.