Ezekiel 43:1-9

The description of the Temple is fittingly followed by an account of Yahweh's solemn entry into it a passage which forms the real climax of the last section of the book, and is the counterpart to His equally solemn departure described in Ezekiel 10:18 ff. and Ezekiel 11:22 ff. Girt with splendour, He re-enters by the eastern gate through which He had departed, and from the midst of the Temple His voice rings mysteriously forth, declaring that there He will dwell for ever in the midst of Israel. But whereas, in the old days of the monarchy, palace and Temple had been contiguous, separated only by a wall, and the graves of the kings had defiled the Temple by their proximity to it, such profanations and defilements no less than every trace of idolatry must be absolutely removed; and then Yahweh would dwell with Israel for ever. (In Ezekiel 43:3, for I came read He came.)