These next nine chapters are some of the most difficult passages in the whole of the bible to interpret. I will give what I believe they mean, but know that faithful theologians from all denominations in all ages have tried to interpret them and come up with different conclusions. They are known as Ezekiel’s temple. Be blessed as you read and pray this week.
Ezekiel 40: Vision of the New Temple
1 In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me to the city.
2 In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south.
3 When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway.
4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel."
The East Gate to the Outer Court
5 And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man's hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed.
6 Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep.
7 And the side rooms, one reed long and one reed broad; and the space between the side rooms, five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the vestibule of the gate at the inner end, one reed.
8 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, on the inside, one reed.
9 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and its jambs, two cubits; and the vestibule of the gate was at the inner end.
10 And there were three side rooms on either side of the east gate. The three were of the same size, and the jambs on either side were of the same size.
11 Then he measured the width of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gateway, thirteen cubits.
12 There was a barrier before the side rooms, one cubit on either side. And the side rooms were six cubits on either side.
13 Then he measured the gate from the ceiling of the one side room to the ceiling of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; the openings faced each other.
14 He measured also the vestibule, twenty cubits. And around the vestibule of the gateway was the court.
15 From the front of the gate at the entrance to the front of the inner vestibule of the gate was fifty cubits.
16 And the gateway had windows all around, narrowing inwards toward the side rooms and toward their jambs, and likewise the vestibule had windows all around inside, and on the jambs were palm trees.
The Outer Court
17 Then he brought me into the outer court. And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement.
18 And the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement.
19 Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.
The North Gate
20 As for the gate that faced toward the north, belonging to the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth.
21 Its side rooms, three on either side, and its jambs and its vestibule were of the same size as those of the first gate. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
22 And its windows, its vestibule, and its palm trees were of the same size as those of the gate that faced toward the east. And by seven steps people would go up to it, and find its vestibule before them.
23 And opposite the gate on the north, as on the east, was a gate to the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate, a hundred cubits.
The South Gate
24 And he led me toward the south, and behold, there was a gate on the south. And he measured its jambs and its vestibule; they had the same size as the others.
25 Both it and its vestibule had windows all around, like the windows of the others. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
26 And there were seven steps leading up to it, and its vestibule was before them, and it had palm trees on its jambs, one on either side.
27 And there was a gate on the south of the inner court. And he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.
The Inner Court
28 Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate, and he measured the south gate. It was of the same size as the others.
29 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
30 And there were vestibules all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad.
31 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its jambs, and its stairway had eight steps.
32 Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side, and he measured the gate. It was of the same size as the others.
33 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and both it and its vestibule had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
34 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
35 Then he brought me to the north gate, and he measured it. It had the same size as the others.
36 Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others, and it had windows all around. Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits.
37 Its vestibule faced the outer court, and it had palm trees on its jambs, on either side, and its stairway had eight steps.
38 There was a chamber with its door in the vestibule of the gate, where the burnt offering was to be washed.
39 And in the vestibule of the gate were two tables on either side, on which the burnt offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering were to be slaughtered.
40 And off to the side, on the outside as one goes up to the entrance of the north gate, were two tables; and off to the other side of the vestibule of the gate were two tables.
41 Four tables were on either side of the gate, eight tables, on which to slaughter.
42 And there were four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high, on which the instruments were to be laid with which the burnt offerings and the sacrifices were slaughtered.
43 And hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened all around within. And on the tables the flesh of the offering was to be laid.
Chambers for the Priests
44 On the outside of the inner gateway there were two chambers in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate facing south, the other at the side of the south gate facing north.
45 And he said to me, This chamber that faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple,
46 and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who alone among the sons of Levi may come near to the LORD to minister to him.
47 And he measured the court, a hundred cubits long and a hundred cubits broad, a square. And the altar was in front of the temple.
The Vestibule of the Temple
48 Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the jambs of the vestibule, five cubits on either side. And the breadth of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the sidewalls of the gate were three cubits on either side.
49 The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the breadth twelve cubits, and people would go up to it by ten steps. And there were pillars beside the jambs, one on either side.
Ezekiel 41: The Inner Temple
1 Then he brought me to the nave and measured the jambs. On each side six cubits was the breadth of the jambs.
2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sidewalls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. And he measured the length of the nave, forty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits.
3 Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewalls on either side of the entrance, seven cubits.
4 And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across the nave. And he said to me, "This is the Most Holy Place."
5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple.
6 And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsets all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple.
7 And it became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around the temple. Thus the temple had a broad area upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story.
8 I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits.
9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple and the
10 other chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
11 And the doors of the side chambers opened on the free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.
12 The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long;
14 also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.
15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the yard that was at the back and its galleries on either side, a hundred cubits. The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court,
16 the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered),
17 to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern.
18 It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces:
19 a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around.
20 From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.
21 The doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling
22 an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD."
23 The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door.
24 The double doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door.
25 And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls. And there was a canopy of wood in front of the vestibule outside.
26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies.
Things to think about…
1. The year as recorded by Ezekiel is the twenty fifth year of captivity which brings to about 573/2BC, Ezek 40:1 if we consider 597BC was the year Ezekiel is referring to, which is when he went into exile. The Babylonians finally conquered Jerusalem in 586BC. Jerusalem is well and truly destroyed. Fourteen years have gone by. Ezekiel is taken by the Spirit back to Jerusalem and set upon a mountain and is shown this vision. The Lord has to take us out of the depths of our normal lives in order to get us to see new things about ourselves and His will. When has He done this for you?
2. The Jews returned to Jerusalem in 536BC and began to build the temple. Please note that none of the dimensions that Ezekiel speaks about here were used in the construction of the temple or the wall under Nehemiah’s time. The second temple was built from 536 – 516BC. The outer courts and gates were not started. Nehemiah would build the wall some sixty years later. Herod the Great added to the dimensions and the temple, but they still did not match the dimensions mentioned here in Ezekiel’s temple vision.
3. The exiles would be comforted by the fact that the temple, wall and gates would be built. The question is – Who is the builder or who are the builders of the structure mentioned in this chapter? Is it a man-made or a God-made structure? These chapters are too literal in my opinion to all be symbolic and figurative. Jews are divided into two camps here. Some say the Jews should build the third temple, others believe the Messiah will build it. I believe a third temple will be built before the temple described here. This is more likely the Millennial temple as we shall see in the following chapters. In Ezek 40:3 we see what many consider to be a pre-incarnate Christ directing Ezekiel through the vision and measurements of the temple. Jesus is the One who rebuilds the temple without hands – His own body in three days. We are His temple and will dwell with Him forever.
4. In Ezek 40:39 it speaks about two tables being present for the burnt offering, sin offering and the guilt offering. Surely these would not be needed if this is Christ’s Millennial temple. An explanation to this may be that even now we partake of the Lord’s supper as a remembrance. Perhaps these are a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ, affirming that he has fulfilled the requirements. Although this is a difficult interpretation for some and has some challenges.
5. The measurements we see in Ezek 41 here are similar to those we read about for Solomon's temple. Note that there is no gold mentioned here that is covering any of the walls, doors or chambers of the temple. Where will the glory come from do you think? Solomon was blessed with the presence of the Lord, but this came and went. Not so with this temple. The presence of the Lord remains and the temple would never be defiled.
6. In Ezek 41:19 in the doors of the temple there is a human face carved into one side and the face of a lion carved into the other. Christ is deity in humanity as well as being the Lion from the tribe of Judah
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Dry bones and one stick” – Reading Ezekiel 37.
1. The ‘dry bones’ passage is very interesting to study. Ezekiel says it refers to Israel being restored. They were restored back to the land after 70 years in captivity in Babylon, but why is this likely not what Ezekiel is speaking about..
2. When Israel went into exile the northern 10 tribes were already taken by the Assyrians 100 years before in 722BC. Babylon takes the 2 southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin in 586BC. Ezekiel speaks of one stick being joined, Joseph and Judah to make one stick. How has this happened, or is it still happening?
3. The Holy Spirit is needed to make someone alive in Christ, either Jew or Gentile. We can be alive like Ezekiel’s bones with flesh on them but still be without the Spirit. What is the role of the church in making this happen. A second question is what is the role of the Gentile church to make Israel embrace the Spirit and acknowledge Jesus (Yeshua) as Saviour?
4. Pray for each other and the outreach of the gospel.
Prayer Points
1. AGM – 6th Nov after the service – next Sunday.
2. Carols service 18th December – Family fun Day afternoon/evening 3pm-7pm.
3. Christmas Day Service 25th Dec – on a Sunday this year – service will start at 9:00am.
4. Pray for the leadership of our country.
5. Pray for the people of Iran and Ukraine.
6. The right choice for a full time Youth and Young Adults Pastor to start Jan 2023 and the finances to support them.
7. Health of Ross Goltz
8. More young families and youth into the church.
9. Ministry leaders within the church.
10. Our One for Israel ministry.
11. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for Graham’s faithful word on Sunday.
2. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Paul, Suzy, Zac. Bec on Words and Doug on sound. Thankyou. Suzy and Maddison in café. Thankyou for those who welcomed at the door.
3. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Members Meeting – AGM 6th November after the service.
2. Carols service – 18th Dec 3pm to 7pm.
3. Christmas Day service – 9am Dec 25th.
4. Remember to check your duty rosters.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
