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 G.o.d, and they shall know that I am Jehovah their G.o.d 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 cx.x.xii 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 G.o.d and upward were four horns. And the hearth of G.o.d 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 G.o.d."
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 G.o.d;"
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 G.o.d."
Gesenius translated it "the hearth," and still better is "the hearth of G.o.d." 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 b.l.o.o.d.y 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 G.o.d died, when His blessed lips uttered the never-to-be-forgotten words, "It is finished," and G.o.d"s hand rent the veil from top to bottom, the prospective character of these sacrifices were forever ended. The new and living way into G.o.d"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).
G.o.d, 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 G.o.d has p.r.o.nounced the curse of G.o.d (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 b.l.o.o.d.y sacrifices.
These will be an abomination in the sight of G.o.d. 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 G.o.d (2 Thess. ii).
At the end of the three and one-half years which const.i.tute 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 G.o.d gives them the a.s.surance, "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. x.x.xi: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 G.o.d 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 pa.s.sage. 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 G.o.d. Ezekiel is not the only prophet who tells us of this. One of the strongest pa.s.sages 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. x.x.xiii: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 G.o.d"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 G.o.d 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.
Chapter xliv.
Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same (verses 1-3).
In the previous chapter the prophet was in the inner court (xliii:5). It was there he heard the voice of the Lord and received the message and saw the great altar and its ordinances. From the inner court he is led back by the man to the eastern gate. This gate he finds no longer open.
As they arrived it was shut. The last time that gate was seen it was open, and the glory of the Lord entered through this eastern gateway.
The reason why this gate is to be shut is stated by the Lord in His address to Ezekiel. "Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore shall it be shut." The Lord who entered with His glory is the Son of G.o.d, the Lord Jesus Christ, and here His full glory is made known. He is the Lord, the G.o.d of Israel, He "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah v:2). The gate is now to serve another purpose.
"It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same." Who is this prince? Some say that this prince is the Lord Himself. Our Lord is repeatedly called a prince (Isaiah ix:6, 7, lv:4[51]; Dan. ix:25; Rev. i:5). In chapters x.x.xiv and x.x.xvii Messiah, Christ, is meant by the One Shepherd "My servant David," who will be King and Prince over them. But now in the closing chapters of this book a prince is mentioned seventeen times. But not once is he spoken of as "David" or "my servant David." This prince is not the Messiah, our Lord; nor is he the high priest as others claim.
The best evidence that this prince is not Christ is learned from the ordinances he is to observe as revealed in chapter xlvi, where we read that he is to worship himself and that he must bring burnt offerings and peace offerings; we also read of this prince having sons. All this shows that the prince is not identical with the Lord. Who is he then? He is the viceregent of the King, a future prince of the house of David, who will represent the Lord on earth. David"s throne will be established in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign supreme over all; His throne is above the earth in the New Jerusalem. He will visit the earth and manifest His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords. This probably will be during the great celebrations of the feast of Tabernacles, when the nations send their representatives to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts (Zech. xiv:16). Upon David"s throne will sit this prince of David as viceregent. The enemy antic.i.p.ating this has counterfeited this vice-regency in the spurious claims of the Roman pope.
[51] The Hebrew word translated "leader" is "prince."
This prince as the vice-regent, has to enter by the way of the porch of the eastern gateway, and he must also go out the same way (see also xlvi:2-8.)
II. Concerning the Strangers and the Levites in Relation to the Temple Worship.
Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell upon my face. And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. And thou shalt say to the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations. In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncirc.u.mcised in heart, and uncirc.u.mcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
Thus saith the Lord G.o.d; No stranger, uncirc.u.mcised in heart, nor uncirc.u.mcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. And the Levites that are gone away from me, when Israel went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols: they shall even bear their iniquity.
Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister unto them. Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord G.o.d, and they shall bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, not to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed. But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. (verses 4-14).
Brought again through the north gate of the inner court, the prophet is face to face with the glory of the Lord which filled the house of the Lord, and Ezekiel fell on his face. Then the Lord addressed him. He is to mark well what he sees and what he hears concerning the ordinances and the laws of the house of the Lord. The temple is now repeatedly called the house of the Lord, the place where His glory dwells, exalted above the hills, to which the nations shall come (Isaiah ii:2). Israel in this message is reminded of the past. They were a rebellious house.
This was the burden of the opening messages of the prophet (chapter ii, etc.). But now all must be and will be different. The abominations of the past, the pollution of His house and all else will now be put away.
"Let it suffice you of all your abominations." They will no longer be tolerated, nor will converted Israel backslide again. He reminds them of their sinful past and of the demands of holiness for His house; all abominations and failures will cease. Uncirc.u.mcised in heart and in flesh shall not enter into the sanctuary of the Lord. Zechariah bears the same testimony: "In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts" (Zech. xiv:21). His people will then be holy; their new birth has taken place, the uncirc.u.mcised, stony heart is taken away and His Spirit is poured out upon them (chapter x.x.xvi:25-27).
Verses 10-14 concern the Levites; they are to bear their iniquity and be degraded as to their office. What Levites are meant, and when did they go away from the Lord? It cannot mean past generations of Levites. The offence must have been committed by them before the Lord appeared in glory. It must be explained by what happened among the people before the Lord came, during the days of the false Messiah. At that time Israel will go far astray from the Lord and turn again to idols. In this apostasy the Levites have a share. "They ministered unto them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity." When the Lord comes, when their sins are forgiven and they are cleansed, the Lord will deal accordingly with these Levites as announced in these verses. They shall bear their iniquity for their unfaithfulness. "They shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed." Yet there will be service for them. "But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein."
III. Concerning the Priests, the sons of Zadok, and their Duties.
But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord G.o.d: They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.
And it shall come to pa.s.s, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, and they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat. And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. Neither shall any priest drink wine, when they enter into the inner court. Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is put away: but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow that had a priest before. And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine a.s.semblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths. And they shall come at no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. And after he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, saith the Lord G.o.d.