Ezekiel 40:1-4

Chapter Eighteen

GOD'S FUTURE TEMPLE
40:1-43:12

The Book of Ezekiel ends as it began, with a vision. In Chapter s 1-3 Ezekiel sees a vision illustrating how God had visited His people in Exile; these last Chapter s depict God dwelling in the midst of His people who have been re-established in their own land. Earlier in vision Ezekiel had seen the Temple of God profaned and he had seen the consequent departure of the divine Glory (Ezekiel 8:1 to Ezekiel 11:25). In these Chapter s God again dwells in the midst of His Temple (Ezekiel 43:5). Thus Chapter s 40-48 are not a superfluous appendix to the Book of Ezekiel, but rather the climax of his prophetic thought.

From the vantage point of a high mountain (probably Mt. Zion) Ezekiel saw in vision the holy city. An angelic figure conducted him through the Temple area. Everything was measured with a measuring rod. The details are tedious, especially to the western mind. These Chapter s describe (1) the future temple (Ezekiel 40:1 to Ezekiel 43:12); (2) the future worship (Ezekiel 43:13 to Ezekiel 46:24); and (3) the future land (chaps. 47-48).

Because Chapter s 40-48 form a veritable continental divide in Biblical interpretation, the first section of the present chapter will survey the various approaches which have been taken to these Chapter s. This introductory section will be followed by a description of that new Temple envisioned by Ezekiel. In this angelic guided tour of the Zion-to-be the student must not allow himself to become bogged down in tedious detail and unfamiliar units of measure (cubits, reeds, etc.). The student should ever keep in mind that the subject of the closing Chapter s of Ezekiel is the restitution of the kingdom of God. This theme is unfolded in a vision in which are displayed in concrete detail a rebuilt Temple, reformed priesthood, reorganized services, restored monarchy, reapportioned territory, and a renewed people.

I. THE INTERPRETATION OF EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE

The problem of the interpretation of Ezekiel 40-48 is one of the most difficult in Biblical hermeneutics. Three main approaches to these Chapter s have been taken by scholars: (1) the literal prophetic; (2) the literal futuristic; and (3) the symbolic Christian.

A. The Literal Prophetic View

According to those who hold to the literal prophetic view of the Temple, Ezekiel is here giving the blueprints for the Temple which God intended for His people to build upon their return to the Holy Land. Philip Mauro is perhaps the most forceful proponent of this view. He argues:

God's plan had always been to give His people the exact pattern of the sanctuary they were to build for His name And now again a house was about to be built for the Name of the Lord in Jerusalem. Therefore. we should expect to find at this period a revelation from heaven of the pattern to be followed in the building of that house. And just here we do find the revelation from God of the complete pattern and appointments of a temple, with directions to the prophet to show the same to the house of Israel.[493]

[493] Mauro, HI, p. 119.

It is sometimes argued against this view that too many details are omitted if Ezekiel intended these Chapter s to be a set of blueprints. This is certainly true, but it is no less true of the Tabernacle specifications given to Moses at Sinai. Plumptre, however, points to a more telling indictment of the literal prophetic view of the Temple vision. He points out that

there is no trace in the after history of Israel of any attempt to carry Ezekiel's ideal into execution. No reference is made to it by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who were the chief teachers of the people at the time of the rebuilding of the temple. There is no record of its having been in the thoughts of Zerubbabel, the Prince of Judah, and Joshua the high priest, as they set about that work. No description of the second temple or its ritual in Josephus or the rabbinical writings at all tallies with what we find in these Chapter s,[494]

[494] Cited by Whitelaw, PC, p. xi.

In rebuttal to this line of argument, Mauro points out that

.. there is no evidence now available as to the plan of the temple built in the days of Ezra. Herod the Great had so transformed it in the days of Christ as to destroy all trace of the original design. That question, however, which we cannot now answer, does not affect the question of the purpose for which the pattern was revealed to Ezekiel.[495]

[495] Mauro, III, p. 121.

B. The Literal Futuristic View

Much support in recent years has been given to the Dispensational view, or what might be dubbed the literal futuristic view of the Temple. According to this view, God still has physical Israel very much in His plans. All prophecies pertaining to a glorious future for Israel are to be literally fulfilled in a millennial dispensation which is to follow this present age. The Jews will one day rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem following the specifications given by Ezekiel. The Old Covenant blood sacrifices, festivals and rituals will be restored. The sacrificial offerings will be sacramental rather than propitiatory on the order of communion in the church age. Among those holding this position regarding Ezekiel's Temple, the statement of G.L. Archer is typical:

Much caution should be exercised in pressing details, but in the broad outline it may be reasonably deduced that in a coming age all the promises conveyed by the angel to Ezekiel will be fulfilled in the glorious earthly kingdom with which the drama of redemption is destined to close.[496]

[496] Archer, SOTI, 363.

Erich Sauer adds this thought:

We stand here really before an inescapable alternative: Eifher the prophet himself was mistaken in his expectation of a coming temple service, and his prophecy in the sense in which he meant it will never be fulfilled; or God, in the time of the Messiah, will fulfill literally these prophecies of the temple according to their intended literal meaning. There is no other choice possible,[497]

[497] Sauer, FEE, p. 181.

According to Dispensational principles of interpretations, all prophecies pertaining to physical Israel which have not been carnally or materially fulfilled are to be assigned to the Millennial age. The Millennium becomes a convenient dumping ground for every prophecy which offers any difficulty or which demands any spiritual discernment. The unhappy result of this procedure is that many prophecies which were fulfilled at the first coming of Christ, or are being fulfilled even now, are relegated to some distant future. This postponement system is popular because it is safe and easy. It is safe because no one can conclusively refute it until the Millennium arrives. It is easy because it requires little spiritual discernment.

The Dispensational view fails to come to grips in any meaningful way with certain basic New Testament principles. The first principle is that the once-for-allness of the sacrifice of Christ nullified all animal sacrifices forever (Hebrews 10:18). In the light of the argument of Hebrews (Ezekiel 7:18-19; Ezekiel 9:6-10; Ezekiel 10:1-9) that the Old Testament sacrificial system was abolished by Christ's death, it would be impossible to place Ezekiel's Temple in any dispensation subsequent to Calvary, at least if these sacrifices are to be interpreted literally. The Dispensational retort that the animal sacrifices of the Millennial Temple will be sacramental a memorial to the sacrifice of Christ is weak. All five offerings of the Levitical system are mentioned, and it is a gratuitous assumption that these sacrifices serve some different function in Ezekiel's Temple than in the Old Testament Levitical system.

Still another New Testament principle to which the Dispensationalists fail to do justice is that the heirs of the kingdom are not national Jews (Matthew 21:43), but true Jews (Romans 2:28-29), who along with converted Gentiles constitute the new Israel of God (Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9-10). These temple visions present difficulties of interpretation, as is generally recognized; but whatever they may or may not mean, they certainly afford no support for the doctrine of a political future for the earthly Israel in the period just before and just after the rapture.

The Dispensational view also fails to come to grips with the facticity of God's present age Temple, the church of Jesus Christ. That Temple is real, it is literal; but it is not physical (1 Peter 2:5; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:13-22).

C. The Symbolic Christian View

Many of the older commentators held that the entire vision of these final Chapter s was fulfilled symbolically in the Gospel age and the Christian church. Much of the symbolism of these Chapter s has been borrowed by the apostle John in Revelation as he pictures the new Jerusalem, the church in the kingdom of God (Revelation 21:9 to Revelation 22:5). As John repaints the picture he removes all traces of Judaism. Beasley-Murray sets forth this view as follows:

The conclusion of Ezekiel's prophecy, therefore, is to be regarded as a true prediction of the kingdom of God given under the forms with which the prophet was familiar, viz., those of his own (Jewish) dispensation. Their essential truth will be embodied in the new age under forms suitable to the new (Christian) dispensation. How this is to be done is outlined for us in the book of Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:5.[498]

[498] Beasley Murray, NBC, p. 664.

To this may be added the appropriate comments of Young:

It is obvious that the prophet never intended these descriptions to be taken literally. It is clear that he is using figurative or symbolic language. Every attempt to follow out his directions literally leads to difficulty.[499]

[499] Young, OTI, pp. 264, 65.

Ezekiel himself may have anticipated that his Plans would be carried out to the letter. The real question, however, is not what Ezekiel may have had in his mind, but what the Holy Spirit who is the ultimate author of this Temple vision intended to convey through these Chapter s. A literal interpretation of the New Testament teaching regarding Christ's present day Temple (the church) would surely suggest if not demand that one view these Chapter s as preparatory for the establishment of this spiritual, but nonetheless real, worship edifice. The hermeneutical principle involved is this fullness of promised blessing is here expressed in terms of restorative completeness. The vision, then, must be viewed as strictly symbolical, the symbols employed being the Mosaic ordinances. This is not spiritualization, but realization. In 2 Corinthians 6:16 Paul is not merely borrowing Old Testament language (Leviticus 26:12; Exodus 29:45; Ezekiel 37:27); he is proclaiming fulfillment. The material and physical fulfillment of some prophecies does not demand the material and physical fulfillment of all prophecy.

All things considered, the symbolic Christian view of Chapter s 40-48 seems by far the best alternative. The vision then pertains to the church of Christ upon earth and perhaps in heaven as well. The prophets of the Old Testament often employed dark speeches and figurative language. They spoke in shadowy forms of the Old Covenant. But they spoke of Christ. Here Ezekiel, in his own unique way is preaching Christ. The Temple vision is an elaborate representation of the Messianic age. If it be objected that these promises were made to physical Israel, it need only be pointed out that all these promises were conditional (Ezekiel 43:9-11). Israel of the flesh did not fulfill the conditions laid down. Hence, these promises (along with all the others) have been forfeited irretrievably; and they find their yea and their amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20)[500]

[500] Mauro, III, p. 114.

Regardless of the interpretation to which one might be inclined, certain great truths are expressed in these Chapter s: (1) Worship will be central in the new age. (2) God would dwell in the midst of His people. (3) Blessings would flow forth from the presence of God to bring life to the most barren regions of the earth. (4) Responsibilities as well as privileges would belong to God's people in that age to come.

I. THE VISION OF THE TEMPLE 40:1-43:12
A. The Angelic Agent 40:1-4

TRANSLATION

(1) In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was smitten, on that very day the hand of the LORD came upon me, and He brought me thither. (2) In the visions of God He brought me unto the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, upon which was something like the frame of a city on the south. (3) And He brought me there, and behold a man. His appearance was as the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax in his hand; and he was standing in the gate. (4) And the man said unto me, Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and consider all which I am about to show You, for You have been brought here in order that I might show them to you; declare all which you see to the house of Israel.

COMMENTS

The Temple vision is dated to 573 B.C. (twenty-fifth year of our captivity), fourteen years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The phrase beginning of the year probably means the first month of the year. As so often during his ministry Ezekiel again experienced the overwhelming power (hand) of the Lord (Ezekiel 40:1). Again the prophet was transported in the visionary experience to the land of Palestine, and to the top of a high mountain in that land. This probably refers to Mt. Zion. There Ezekiel could see what appeared to be the outline of a city on the southern end[501] of that mountain.

[501] The LXX reads opposite me instead of on the south and for this reason some scholars prefer to identify the mountain as the Ml. of Olives rather than Mt. Zion.

There on Mt. Zion Ezekiel met a man. The description of this man makes it clear that he is a supernatural personage. His appearance was like bronze (cf. Ezekiel 1:4; Daniel 10:6). He carried a line of flax for measuring long distances, and a measuring reed as well (cf. Revelation 21:10-15). This angelic agent acts as both guide and interpreter for the prophet in these Chapter s. He is reminiscent of the scribe who appeared in, Ezekiel 9:1-11 (cf. Zechariah 2:1). The man was standing in the gate the east gate of the outer court. This is the spot from which Ezekiel's visionary tour would commence (Ezekiel 40:3). Ezekiel was told to pay special heed to what he sees and hears, for later he would be expected to declare these truths to the house of Israel (Ezekiel 40:4).