Ezekiel 41-43

The Temple

Pray

Intro

√ The Kingdom Age

Beginning in chapter 40 through the end of the book, Ezekiel describes in great detail the future Kingdom Age…

The Temple

The City

The Land

The main point of these chapters is to encourage the Jewish people in captivity by pointing them to the future restoration and renewal of Israel.

Remember, at the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy the people are scattered, the Temple lay in ruins, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the land from one end to the other was wasted.

Yet, God was not through with His people and this final prophecy is meant to remind them that God would still keep all His promises to the people and the nation of Israel.

The Temple in particular would be important to the Jews because it was the…

1) Visible symbol of God’s presence among His people.

Remember that earlier in chapter 10 and 11 God’s presence had departed from the Temple…

…so the highlight of Israel’s future restoration will be the return of God’s presence to the new Temple!

2. Secondly, the new Temple would be the visible reminder of God’s New Covenant with the Jewish people.

So, in our study this evening we get a peak inside the Temple and then watch as God culminates the restoration of His people by once more taking up residence in their midst.

Chapter 41

Inside the Temple (vs. 1-4)

Ez. 41:1 Then he brought me into the sanctuary (“OS’ on drawing) and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.

Ez. 41:2 The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

Ez. 41:3 Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits.

Ez. 41:4 He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place” (“IS” on drawing).

√ Inside the Temple (The Millennial Temple Proper drawing)

Ezekiel and his angel carpenter finally move into the Temple itself to get the measurements of the interior of the Temple, a few interesting points…

1) The Holy Place (“OS”) ~ the angel invites Ezekiel to follow him from the entrance (“E”) into the Holy Place.

In all previous Temples this is where the Lamp stand, Table of Show Bread, and the Altar of Incense were.

This Temple only has one piece of furniture, an altar mentioned in vs. 22.

We’re not told what it was used for but its measurements most closely match those of the Altar of Incense.

The question is what happened to the other furniture?

Ap. Not needed?

Each piece of furniture in the Temple matched the original in Heaven that Moses saw and was instructed to replicate on Earth.

The Table of Show bread was symbolic of God’s desire to fellowship with His people.

Perhaps it’s not mentioned here because in the Kingdom age God will actually dwell with His people! (ref. Rev. 20:4-6 & Daniel 7:13-14).

The Lamp stand was symbolic of God’s Spirit and the light by which He illuminates the hearts and minds of Men.

Perhaps it’s not mentioned here because in the Kingdom age the light of God’s presence will illuminate all the earth! (ref. Rev. 20:4-6 & Daniel 7:13-14).

So, perhaps the reason the only piece of furniture left is the Altar of Incense is that it’s symbolic of the prayers of the saints being still spoken to God from all over the earth.

2) The Most Holy Place (“IS” on your drawing)

Did you notice that the angel didn’t take Ezekiel with him into the Most Holy Place!?

“Then he brought me into the sanctuary” ~ vs. 1

(The Holy Place)

Contrast to…

“Also he went inside…” ~ vs. 3

(The Most Holy Place)

The angel gives Ezekiel the measurement of the Most Holy Place (AKA “Holy of Holies”) but Ezekiel remains in the “Sanctuary”, or Holy Place!

Why?

Perhaps because as a priest Ezekiel was allowed to enter the outer sanctuary…

…but not the inner sanctuary (ref. Lev. 16 & Heb. 9:6-7) which could only be visited by the High Priest and then only on the Day of Atonement.

3) The doorways

The final interesting point about the interior Temple structure is that as one enters the Temple the doorways get progressively narrower!

Doorway into the vestibule is 24.5 feet wide

Doorway into the outer sanctuary is 17.5 feet wide

Doorway into the inner sanctuary is 10.5 feet wide

Perhaps the design reflects God’s restricting of man’s access to the throne of God (“a narrow path”)…

…and that there is only one way in to the throne room (through Jesus Christ)?

The Temple Walls (vs. 5-11)

Ez. 41:5 Next, he measured the wall (unmarked) of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side.

Ez. 41:6 The side chambers (“SR” on drawing) were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but not fastened to the wall of the temple.

Ez. 41:7 As one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one.

Ez. 41:8 I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, a full rod, that is, six cubits high.

Ez. 41:9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple.

Ez. 41:10 And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.

Ez. 41:11 The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.

√ The Temple walls

The walls described here separate from the walls of the Holy Place and Most Holy Place.

They surround the inner sanctuary but do not touch the walls of it.

Rather, these are the walls that make up the flat exterior of the Temple.

So in effect you have a building within a building.

The interesting design characteristic is that these walls rise up from the floor like gigantic steps.

Three levels, or stories, set up like a stadium.

Each level has storage rooms (“SR”) on your drawing for the priests and Temple workers.

On the bottom level there are two doors, one on the south and one on the north side of the Temple that allow the priests who work in the Temple to access the storage rooms without going into the inner sanctuaries!

That’s because the priests took turns ministering in the Temple (like Zacharias in Luke 1)…

…so not all were allowed to go in, but still needed to access the storage rooms to do the work outside of the Temple.

The Mystery Building (vs. 12-13)

Ez. 41:12 The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

Ez. 41:13 So he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long;

√ The mystery building (“B” on The Millennial Temple drawing)

These verses describe a large building just to the west of the Temple…

…with no indication of what it is or what it’s used for!

None of the other Temples, Solomon’s, Nehemiah’s (later enlarged by Hearod), nor probably the 3^rd Temple had such a building.

So, we can only guess its purpose…

…me, I think it’s a coffee shop named “He-brews”.

Outside the Temple (vs. 14-26)

Ez. 41:14 also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits.

Ez. 41:15 He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner temple and the porches of the court,

Ez. 41:16 their doorposts and the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered—

Ez. 41:17 from the space above the door, even to the inner room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.

Ez. 41:18 And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,

Ez. 41:19 so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around.

Ez. 41:20 From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.

Ez. 41:21 The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar.

Ez. 41:22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”

Ez. 41:23 The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

Ez. 41:24 The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door.

Ez. 41:25 Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside.

Ez. 41:26 There were beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies.

√ Outside the Temple

Ezekiel describes the…

Outside measurements of the Temple and courts

Some interior design elements

The altar

Not a lot here of great theological importance except for the mention of the artwork on the interior walls of the Temple…

…palm trees and Cherub.

Traditionally Palm trees were symbolic of God’s favor as expressed in the fruitfulness of the land and also of victory.

Cherub’s of course remind us of the angelic beings who surround God’s throne.

These same elements are found in both the Tabernacle that Moses built and the Temple that Solomon built.

The reason that’s interesting to me is that it would seem to contradict the 2^nd Commandment…

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;” ~ Ex. 20:4

Yet, here we find the Millennial Temple (and the others before it) filled with carved images of Palm trees and Cherub!

What gives?

The answer is found in God’s definition of idolatry in the 2^nd Commandment…

…which most people never read!

“you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me”

Ex. 20:5

The point is that idolatry is not the creating of images…

…it’s the worship of those images!

Ap. Art not idols!

That’s a critical point to understand because there are hyper-legalist in the Body of Christ who would tell you that it’s sinful to own art.

They will tell you that it’s a violation of the 2^nd Commandment and that you’re displeasing to God.

There error is that they failed to read God’s definition of idolatry!

Chapter 42

√ Rooms for the priests

We won’t bother reading this chapter as it simply describes in detail the measurements of some rooms built adjacent to the Temple (“PC” on your handouts).

These rooms provide a place for the priest to eat their share of the offerings made to the Lord.

And a place to store their garments as they were not allowed to wear their priestly clothes outside of the Temple compound.

The other interesting item is that Ezekiel gives us the total size of the Temple compound in vs. 15-20, a square measuring 500 cubits on each side…

…or 765,625 square feet ~ enough room for 13 football fields!

Chapter 43

√ Intro

It must have stirred the hearts of the Jewish captives just listening to Ezekiel describe the future Temple and it’s awesome size and beauty!

Like a rain on parched ground the prophecies of the new Temple would have restored life to the dry and hopeless hearts of the Jewish people.

But one thing was still missing…

…God!

That is, in His judgment against the Jewish people He had moved out of the old Temple that Solomon had built.

Ezekiel recorded that sad day…

Ez. 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

Ez. 10:19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

And…

Ez. 11:22 So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.

Ez. 11:23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.

So, for all the majesty and beauty of the future Temple it would be nothing more than just a building if God wasn’t living there!

Thus, in chapter 43 Ezekiel describes the climatic moment that would signal Israel’s full restoration…

…the return of their King to His throne in the Temple!

This is the news that the Jewish captives were waiting to hear…

…that God would restore His favor to their nation once more indicated by His presence in the Temple.

The Return of the King (vs. 1-5)

Ez. 43:1 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.

Ez. 43:2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.

Ez. 43:3 It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city (chapters 10 & 11). The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar (chapters 1 & 3); and I fell on my face.

Ez. 43:4 And the glory of the LORD came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.

Ez. 43:5 The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

√ The return of the king

This is really fascinating because Ezekiel tells us that when God returns to the Temple that He will come back following the same path that He left!

He comes to the Temple from the East and enters the compound by the East Gate.

He moves across the courtyard, across the threshold and enters the Temple.

It’s no coincidence that…

Jesus followed this same path into the city when He presented Himself as the Messiah during the Triumphant Entry (Matt. 21:1-17).

Jesus departed Jerusalem and returned to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12).

Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives, cross the Kidron Valley, and enter the Temple along the same route (Acts 1:11, Zech. 14:4 & Matt. 24:27)

So, the prophetic picture that Ezekiel describes here looks forward to the Millennial Kingdom.

Following Jesus’ Return at the end of the Tribulation.

Jesus will destroy the Antichrist and his followers.

Take his rightful place as the King of Israel and the whole world.

The part that’s a little fuzzy is at what point between the end of the Tribulation and the Millennial Kingdom does this Temple come to exist?

Perhaps Jesus will destroy the 3^rd Temple that the Antichrist helps the Jewish people to build.

Probably so as to cleanse the Temple Mount of any remembrance of the Antichrist.

Then they will build, or as many Jews believe, the Temple described here in Ezekiel will just appear!

That is, the Temple will be pre-fabed in Heaven and then placed on the freshly cleansed Temple Mount.

The Repentance of the People (vs. 6-12)

Ez. 43:6 Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me.

Ez. 43:7 And He said to 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 forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.

Ez. 43:8 When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger.

Ez. 43:9 Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

Ez. 43:10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.

Ez. 43:11 And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them.

Ez. 43:12 This is the law of the temple: The whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

√ The repentance of the people

Much to the joy of his listeners Ezekiel tells them that God will place His Throne in the new Temple and that He will live with them forever!

Further more He declares that the people of Israel will never again turn their hearts away from Him to worship false gods!

This of course is not the result of their own good works, rather it is predictive of the New Covenant work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of that future generation.

Concerning the generation of people to whom Ezekiel prophesied God said that another reason for sharing the vision of the Temple was to bring true repentance in their hearts.

“Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.” ~ vs. 10

That is, as they heard the description of the beautiful Temple and the restoration of God’s presence there…

…they would be reminded that it was their sin that brought about the destruction of the first Temple and the departure of God’s presence.

That knowledge would serve to keep them from straying back into idolatry.

Apparently it worked because history reveals that once the Jews returned from Babylon they never again as a nation sought after false gods.

Ap. A reminder

This section reminds us that sometimes God will allow us to carry a reminder of our past sin so as to keep us from picking it up again.

Ex. Jacob’s limp

He would always remember that God had called him to a new life.

No longer “Jacob” the deceiver.

Instead God renamed him “Israel”, or ruled by God.

For the rest of his life his limp would remind him that God had called him from sin to live a new and holy life.

Ex. Paul’s thorn in the flesh

Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Corinthian’s that the affliction he suffered was God’s will to keep him in a place of humility and protect him from his greatest sin…

…pride!

Ap. Your life

If God hasn’t answered your prayer and delivered you from some affliction, or you find some reminder of your old sin still showing up…

…it may be that God has placed it there as a reminder to protect you from being drawn back into that old sin.

The Design of the Altar (vs. 13-17)

Ez. 43:13 “These are the measurements of the altar in cubits (the cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar:

Ez. 43:14 from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit.

Ez. 43:15 The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth.

Ez. 43:16 The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square at its four corners;

Ez. 43:17 the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and its steps face toward the east.”

√ The design of the Altar

Once God returns to the Temple daily services will begin where the priests and the people will come to worship God.

At the heart of their worship is the altar in the Temple court where animal sacrifices will be made as memorial to remember the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God…

…Jesus Christ.

The dimensions of the altar are the similar to the one built by Solomon (ref. 2 Chron. 4:1), however, this one is larger because it is based on royal cubits vs. regular cubits.

The Consecration of the Altar (vs. 18-27)

Ez. 43:18 And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it.

Ez. 43:19 You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord GOD.

Ez. 43:20 You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.

Ez. 43:21 Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and burn it in the appointed place of the temple, outside the sanctuary.

Ez. 43:22 On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.

Ez. 43:23 When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish.

Ez. 43:24 When you offer them before the LORD, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the LORD.

Ez. 43:25 Every day for seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering; they shall also prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish.

Ez. 43:26 Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so consecrate it.

Ez. 43:27 When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will accept you,’ says the Lord GOD.”

√ The consecration of the altar

Just like Moses and Solomon had to consecrate the Tabernacle and the Temple…

…so in the future Temple the altar must first be consecrated to God before it can be used.

The 7 days of special offerings for the consecration of the Temple will mark the full restoration of God’s fellowship with His people.

At the end of 7 days the Temple will be open for the people to gather to worship on a daily basis.

Close

Ap. Your body is the Temple of God!

As exciting as these prophecies are about the future Temple in Jerusalem is I think a greater marvel is that God presently dwells within each believer!

That is, as Paul reminds the Corinthians God has made our bodies His Temple!

Just as that future Temple was consecrated to God so we’re reminded that our bodies should be set apart to His work and His glory!

No longer using our Temples to serve the false gods of this world.

Rather, daily presenting our bodies as an offering of service to the Lord.

As Paul wrote…

Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.