In My House, Where My Priests Serve, Where My Children Pray (Ezekiel 44v1-31)

TITLE: IN MY HOUSE! WHERE MY PRIESTS SERVE…WHERE MY CHILDREN PRAY!

TEXT: EZEKIEL 44.1-31

We begin to get the order of service in the future Millennial Temple.

The very fact that there is an order of service and that the believers have certain assignments is itself instructive.  You see, whenever we get together, there is to be some order in our serving the Lord and serving one another.

In the New Testament era in which we live there is great freedom in determining order of service.  For example we are told regarding the frequency of the Lord’s Supper, or communion as we commonly call it, to celebrate it “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup” (1Corinthians 11:26).  In other words the frequency is up to us.

Some celebrate weekly; others daily.  There’s a freedom about it.

We can choose style of worship, time of worship, place of worship… Just about everything is open to us, so long as it honors the Lord in His holiness.

It does not follow, however, that lack of order is spiritual.  There is to be order.  Our services must make sense.

Before God gives Ezekiel some ideas about order of service He introduces a mysterious character.

Ezekiel 44:1  Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut.
Ezekiel 44:2  And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.
Ezekiel 44:3  As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”

Once the Lord returns to the Temple through the east gate it will be sealed.   There is a popular idea that the current east gate in Jerusalem, also called the Golden Gate, is the gate described by Ezekiel.  It isn’t.  For one thing the dimensions of it are different.  More importantly we’ve seen from our studies that the Millennial Temple will not be in the exact spot the current Temple Mount occupies.

Who is this prince?  Let’s see first who it isn’t!  It isn’t the Lord for the following reasons:

In verse three it says that he “eats bread before the Lord.”  The phrasing clearly distinguishes him from the Lord.
In chapter forty-five we learn that this prince makes sin offerings for himself as well as the people.  There’s no way the Lord would offer a sacrifice for Himself!
In chapter forty-six we learn the prince has children.
In Ezekiel 48:22 we are told that this prince shall have a land allotment along with the Tribes of Israel.

Who is it?  I say it’s David!  Consider the following verses:

Hosea 3:5  Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

Jeremiah 30:9  But they shall serve the Lord their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

Ezekiel 34:23  I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them – My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:24  And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

Ezekiel 37:24  “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.
Ezekiel 37:25  Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever.

Thus it would seem that David will serve as a co-regent, a “prince,” in the administration of the Messiah.

Before Ezekiel begins to describe the service of the priests he is given an exhortation to deliver to his listeners in verses four through eight.

Ezekiel 44:4  Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; so I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; and I fell on my face.
Ezekiel 44:5  And the Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.
Ezekiel 44:6  “Now say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, let Us have no more of all your abominations.
Ezekiel 44:7  When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it – My house – and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.
Ezekiel 44:8  And you have not kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.”

There a line in Godfather 2 that has found it’s way into pop-culture.  Michael Corleone is incensed that a rival has broken the gangster code by attacking him in his own home.  He exclaims, “IN MY HOME! IN MY BEDROOM! Where my wife sleeps… and my children play with their toys.”

Look at verse seven again where the Lord exclaims, “When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it – My house…”

Today we are the ‘house’ of the Lord, both in our individual bodies and our corporate body when we gather.  What are we… What am I… bringing in to the house of the Lord?  It’s an important question especially in this age of grace when we keep moving old boundaries farther and farther.

Ezekiel 44:9  Thus says the Lord God: “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

In case we were still wondering this verse puts us on notice that men will still be sinners needing salvation in the Millennium.  The heart of the problem, as Billy Graham used to say, is the problem of the heart.

It’s kind of mind-blowing, isn’t it, that Jesus Christ could be on the earth in His resurrected body and people still will reject His offer of salvation?

Verse nine forms a segue to verses ten through fourteen as we learn that God will restrict the duties of certain priests in the Millennial Temple.

Ezekiel 44:10  “And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.
Ezekiel 44:11  Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.
Ezekiel 44:12  Because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity.
Ezekiel 44:13  And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.
Ezekiel 44:14  Nevertheless I will make them keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

We’ll see in a moment that only Levites descended from Zadok will be allowed to offer the sacrifices.  The Levites from the other families did not remain faithful but led the people into sin.

I think this has application to every New Testament believer in this sense: We are to do everything in our power to not offend, or stumble, another believer.  Yes, we have and enjoy great liberty in Jesus Christ.  But our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ supersedes our individual liberty.

In his discussion about meat sacrificed to idols, the apostle Paul said if you want to partake of a liberty that offends others, have it to yourself and to God.  Go out of your way to keep it to yourself.

Don’t become an evangelist for your liberty!  Seriously, some believers are more vocal about questionable behaviors than they are about the Gospel.  Instead of sharing Christ with nonbelievers they are sharing vices with believers.

Before we navigate away from these verses, note the precious nature of verse fourteen.  God in His mercy allows these guys to serve.  They may be disqualified from certain things, but not from everything.

In verses fifteen through twenty-seven we are given the overview of the ministry of the priests who descend from Zadok.

Ezekiel 44:15  “But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 44:16  “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge.
Ezekiel 44:17  And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house.
Ezekiel 44:18  They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.
Ezekiel 44:19  When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall not sanctify the people.
Ezekiel 44:20  “They shall neither shave their heads, nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed.
Ezekiel 44:21  No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court.
Ezekiel 44:22  They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.
Ezekiel 44:23  “And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
Ezekiel 44:24  In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
Ezekiel 44:25  “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.
Ezekiel 44:26  After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him.
Ezekiel 44:27  And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering in the inner court,” says the Lord God.

In the days of David and Solomon Zadok and his boys remained loyal while others did not.  God promised that his descendants would be remembered in the future service of the Temple.

These priests have a high calling, a high privilege, and with it comes a higher standard.  They are to be separate, different, in their clothing, in their grooming, in their marriages, and in their drinking alcohol, among other things.

It isn’t that those practices make you more holy or more spiritual.  No, they communicate to others that you understand your high calling, your high privilege, to serve the Lord.

We often get this wrong in the church.  We think that the restrictions will cause us to be better Christians.  We shake our heads at monks, knowing that cloistering themselves away will not eliminate the desires of the flesh.  Then we adopt our own diet or dress, our own grooming and other habits, and think ourselves more spiritual.  It doesn’t work that way.

Having said that, it is still a high calling, a high privilege, to serve the Lord.  And not just as a minister or a missionary.  Here is what I mean.  In the New Testament there are standards for men who desire to serve the Lord as pastors and elders and deacons.  But those standards are really applicable to any Christian man who wants to serve the Lord anywhere in the church or in the world!

Read those passages in the pastoral epistles and you’ll see that every characteristic is something every Christian man ought to have.

Let me put it this way because I think some of you will relate to my experience.  Growing-up in the Roman Catholic tradition I understood that priests and nuns were super-saintly men and women who lived to serve God.  Everyone else was so obviously less spiritual that there were only a few basic standards to adhere to: Don’t kill anyone, don’t commit adultery, etc.  (Of course over time those have gotten relaxed!).

Almost imperceptibly I think that protestants have this same idea.  We think there is a huge gap between the minister, the missionary and the ‘normal’ believer.  They need to have certain standards but I don’t!

A minister (a pastor let’s call him) is a Christian with certain gifts.  So is a missionary.  Everyone who is not a minister or a missionary is a Christian with certain gifts!  Where is the gap?  It’s only in our way of thinking, which often leads us to relax our standards.

The Millennial priests won’t be drinking wine.  As much as I want to, I’m not going to get into a discussion about drinking tonight.  It’s OK to drink, never OK to be drunk.  No one has been able to tell me exactly where drinking becomes drunkenness.

Personally I consider alcohol a great evil.  Enough said.

The chapter closes with information about the portion for these priests.

Ezekiel 44:28  “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
Ezekiel 44:29  They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs.
Ezekiel 44:30  The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.
Ezekiel 44:31  The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.
No road kill for the priests!  The emphasis isn’t on the priests, however.  It’s on the offerer.  I think what is indicated is that when the Israelite thinks of bringing an offering, he or she should always bring the first, the best – not road kill!

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of ‘road kill’ given in the name of Jesus.  It’s one thing to donate some broken down appliance to charity when everyone knows full well that it is really junk.  It’s another thing to give something as if it were a real prized possession when, in fact, it’s really junk.

Giving God our best doesn’t mean we dress up in our ‘Sunday best’ for church.  It’s a heart issue.  It’s the desire of our heart to give God the first, the best of our treasure, of our time, and of our talent, because we love Him.

A few summary thoughts as we close.  Serving the Lord is a high calling and a high privilege for every believer and we are to serve Him in an orderly way and offer Him the first and the best of our treasure, talent and time.

Get Up And Write Like A Man (Ezekiel 43v6-27)

TITLE: THE WORD BIBLE ISN’T IN THE BIBLE

TEXT: Ezekiel 43.6-27
Sooner or later someone is going to tell you that the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible.

That’s correct.  A lot of words aren’t found in the Bible.  For example, the word “bible” is not found in the Bible, but we use it anyway to describe the Bible.  Next time someone tells you that “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, tell them they are using a word to describe the Bible that isn’t found in the Bible!!!

Likewise, “omniscience” which means all-knowing, “omnipotence” which means all-powerful, and “omnipresence” which means present everywhere, are words not found in the Bible either, but we use them to describe the attributes of God.  We don’t have to see a specific word in the Bible in order for the concept it describes to be true.

God must reveal Himself to us if He is to be known.  He reveals Himself to us as one God existing in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They are not three separate ‘gods.’  One God; three Persons.

Here are a sampling of verses where God reveals Himself in the Bible as a Trinity.

Matthew 28:19  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
2 Corinthians 13:14  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Jude 1:20  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,
Jude 1:21  keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

At the baptism of Jesus the Father spoke from Heaven while the Spirit descended upon the Lord in the form of a dove.

There have been many attempts to develop illustrations of the Trinity. However, none of the popular illustrations are completely accurate.  They all fall short because we are talking about something that is incomprehensible to our human, finite minds.

The closest I can come is not really an illustration but it is helpful.  A human being is one person, but you are a trichotomy of body, soul and spirit.  Don’t try to develop that any farther.  It simply shows that the idea of a Trinity or a tri-unity is not far-fetched.

We see an example of the Trinity in verse six of Ezekiel forty-three.

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

We’ve established in previous studies that the “man” standing beside Ezekiel, his guide on this Temple tour, was none other than Jesus Christ in a preincarnation appearance.  Ezekiel was being carried along by the Holy Spirit.  Now he was spoken to by God the Father.

John Gill put it like this:

[The man] whom he saw at first with a measuring line in his hand… and with whom he had been all along, and had seen him measure the house, and all belonging to it: he stood by him as the Mediator between God and him; as the medium of communion with him; as the advocate with the Father: he stood by him to interpret what was said to him; to guide him further into the knowledge of divine things; to assist him, protect and defend him, to continue him in fellowship with God, and to preserve him in grace to glory.  Here is an appearance of the three Persons in the Godhead; the Father speaking to the prophet out of the house; the Son in human form standing by him; and the Spirit of the Lord, who had took him up from the ground, and had brought him into the inner court.

The “man,” the Lord Jesus Christ in an Old Testament appearance, thus takes a position like that of a mediator, giving Ezekiel a prophetic glimpse of the first coming of Jesus as a man to save us by dying on the Cross.  It was sort of a vision within the vision to encourage Ezekiel.

The Father spoke to Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.

The Israelites set up idols in the Temple.  Their kings had defiled God’s holy place.  On account of idolatry God had sent His people into captivity.  His glory had departed from them.  Even after they returned and rebuilt the Temple, God’s glory did not return.  It was a long season of discipline, continuing even today.

The reference to “the carcasses of the kings” has to do with the fact that some fourteen kings of Judah were buried in sepulchers near the Temple.  Death, which came through man’s sin, defiled the Temple site.  They had themselves buried there to speak of their glory but it robbed God of His holiness.

Here’s a thought.  If idolatry is so extensive, so pervasive, that it has taken God more than 2500 years of discipline to root it out of His people, can we take it lightly?  If God identifies someone or some thing in my life that is an idol then I ought to expect it to be extensive, pervasive.  I’d better defend against it coming back and once again usurping the place God occupies in my heart.

Another thing we see in these verses is that God desires to dwell among us.  Not that God needed anything, or was lacking in fellowship, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit determined to create mankind in order to enjoy fellowship with us.

That fellowship didn’t last too long, in the Garden of Eden, before our parents failed the one test of their love for God.  Everything that God has done from that moment about seven thousand years ago until today has been an unfolding drama of redemption to bring us back into fellowship with God.

I use that phrase a lot, ‘the unfolding drama of redemption.’  It’s actually the title of a marvelous book by W. Graham Scroggie.  He surveys the entire Bible to show God’s plan of redemption unfolding.

Here are a couple of choice quotes:

Jesus’ human pedigree, His redemptive program, and His divine purpose which are revealed in the New Testament historically are revealed in the Old Testament prophetically, not in any general or doubtful manner, but in great and exact detail.

Man the sinner needs someone who will redemptively represent him; he needs someone who will reveal God to him; and he needs someone who, with authority and effect, will rule over him.  In other words, man needs a priest, a prophet, and a king: a priest to represent him before God; a prophet to reveal God to him; and a king to take control of, and to rule in and over the whole kingdom of his life. In vain will man find such an one among his fallen fellows, but in Christ the need is supplied in every respect.

It’s a great read!

We next read that Ezekiel’s description of the Temple could have a powerful effect on the exiles.

Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.

A clear presentation of the future Temple to the exiles in Babylon would explain to them the necessity for God’s discipline.  They would see how they had offended the holiness of God and what was required to restore the fellowship that had been broken by their sin.  They would also gain strength from the hope that there would indeed be another Temple on the earth that would be filled with the glory of God and from which God Himself would rule over both them and the earth.

The phrase “the law of the Temple” seems to mean “this is the purpose of the Temple,” that is, to reveal sin and repair the breech between man and God.

There is power in just the reading of God’s Word.  It can render you ashamed for sin, of course, as the Holy Spirit convicts you.  It can fill you with the wonder of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

When the Millennial Temple is established and God is enthroned in it daily services will begin.  Ezekiel was given a description of the altar and procedures for consecrating it.

Ezekiel 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:
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 43:15  The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four horns extending upward from the hearth.
Ezekiel 43:16  The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square at its four corners;
Ezekiel 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 height of the altar will be 19 feet but part of this is below ground.  The altar hearth, 21 feet square, was reached by a flight of steps facing east.
The sacrificial Altar will be approached from the East.  Previous altars were all approached from the South.  Now there will be stairs to the altar, not a ramp as previously.  The top of the altar is now described by the Hebrew word “ariel” meaning hearth of God or lion of God.

Differences in the build of these items, like the altar, continue to establish that this is a real, future Temple that has yet to be built.  This is not symbolic or allegorical in any way.  It is literal.

Once the altar is built and in place it will be consecrated for seven days with a series of offerings.

Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 43:23  When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 43:26  Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so consecrate it.
Ezekiel 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.”

We’ve mentioned before, and we will see again, that the priests of the Millennial Temple will be Levites of the family of Zadok.  This has to do with a promise made to them for their loyalty to David and Solomon.

After seven days of offering bulls, goats, and rams the priests will present the people’s burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar.  This process will mark the full resumption of God’s fellowship with His people, as then God will accept them. These sacrifices will point Israelites to Christ who will have given them access to the Father.

Yes, there will be animal sacrifices in the Millennium.  They do not save anyone and so they do not take anything away from the final, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  They show the separation between God and man and how it must be breached – by accepting Christ’s sacrifice.

God expected the description of the future Temple to affect the exiles.  To profoundly affect them.

Jerry Bridges was a Foursquare pastor who wrote something I read some years ago.  I remember him telling of a time he felt led to simple get up on a series of Sunday mornings and just read aloud the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ with no commentary.  He spoke of it having a powerful effect on the congregants.

Would to God that with or without commentary we would be challenged and changed at every reading of God’s Word!

Get Up And Write Like A Man (Ezekiel 43v1-5 and 44v1-3)

TITLE: GET UP AND WRITE LIKE A MAN

TEXT: Ezekiel 43.1-5 & Ezekiel 44.1-3

Ezekiel is going to fall down at the glory of God only to be lifted up by the Holy Spirit so he doesn’t miss recording anything.

Let’s talk about this “glory.”  After the Exodus the Israelites encamped at the base of Mt. Sinai.  God’s glory was sitting on top of Mt. Sinai as He gave the law to His people.  The next seven chapters of the book give the detailed instructions of how the people were to build the Tabernacle.  Then from chapters 38-40 Moses recorded how the Israelites carried out God’s instructions for building the Tabernacle.

When the Tabernacle was completed the cloud of God’s glory came over it and filled it with God’s glory.  So great was this revelation of God’s glory, that Moses himself could not enter the Tabernacle.

God’s glory stayed with Israel in the Tabernacle.  This was the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to Israel that He would be their God and dwell among them.

God hung-out with His people in the Tabernacle until Solomon built the Temple that David had planned and provided for.  Then His glory filled that structure.  Here’s how it reads in Second Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 5:12  and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets –
2 Chronicles 5:13  indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,
2 Chronicles 5:14  so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 7:1  When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
2 Chronicles 7:2  And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.
2 Chronicles 7:3  When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.”

Fast forward to the sixth century BC and the time of Ezekiel’s prophecy.  Ezekiel witnessed the presence of the Lord, His glory, leaving the Temple. This happened in stages as God’s glory first left the Holy of Holies (10:4) and paused at the threshold of the Temple.  Ezekiel described the process in detail as cherubim move with God’s glory from place to place.  Then in 10:18-19, the glory of the LORD left the threshold and rested above the east gate of the Temple.

God’s glory then left the east gate of the Temple and rested on the mountain east of the city.  This is the Mount of Olives.  His glory had departed.

The Israelites would return to Jerusalem rebuild a Temple after their exile in Babylon ended around 515BC.  It was called the Second Temple or Zerubbabel’s Temple.

Half a millennia later, perhaps a decade before Jesus was born in Judea, the Second Temple was in such severe need of repairs that the reigning king, Herod the Great, refurbished it completely, greatly expanding its size.

The glory of the Lord never dwelt in the Second Temple.  Neither will the Lord be present in the Temple that will be built during the Great Tribulation.

Fast farther forward to the Millennial Kingdom – the one thousand year reign of Jesus over the earth following His Second Coming.  He sets foot on the Mount of Olives then comes in through the east gate of the Millennial Temple and once again the glory of God will dwell among His people.

Ezekiel 43:1  Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
Ezekiel 43:4  And the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east.
Ezekiel 43:5  The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Jesus is coming again.  When He ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives in the first chapter of the Book of Acts the two men in white who were there said,  “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (v11).

One author spoke of Christ’s Second Coming this way:

There is nothing more clearly stated in the Bible than the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again.  The second coming of Christ to this earth – His visible, literal, physical, glorious return – is explicitly referred to 1,845 times in the Bible.  It is mentioned in twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books.

He’s coming to the Mount of Olives.  Here is the description in the prophecy of Zechariah.

Zechariah 14:4  And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
Zechariah 14:5  Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.
Zechariah 14:6  It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
Zechariah 14:7  It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
Zechariah 14:8  And in that day it shall be – That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
Zechariah 14:9  And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,” And His name one.
Zechariah 14:10  All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.
Zechariah 14:11  The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

It’s hard to be dogmatic about the exact sequence of events at and immediately following the Second Coming.  Here are a few details.

After His Second Coming, and before the Millennium begins, Jesus must judge the nations.  He’s going to identify believers and nonbelievers who have survived the ravages of the Great Tribulation.  Nonbelievers will be cast into Hades to await the second resurrection and their final eternal judgment.  Believers will enter into the Millennial Kingdom as its first human citizens.  In Matthew twenty-five this is described as separating the sheep from the goats.
In his prophecy, in chapter twelve, Daniel tells us there will be an additional length of time between the end of the Great Tribulation at Christ’s coming and the beginning of the kingdom on earth.  He speaks of an additional 30 days, then of an additional 45 days.  Nowhere are we told why these additional days are necessary, but we can certainly speculate that they are needed to complete the judgment of the nations we just mentioned as well as gather Israel to their Messiah.
At some point Jesus will come to the Temple that has been built, the Millennial Temple, and enter it through the east gate.

The Millennial Temple, by the way, will not be a refurbished Tribulation Temple.  We learn from Ezekiel that the Millennial Temple will not be built on the site of the first and second Temples.  It will be in a new location, which earlier was described by Ezekiel as “the separation.”

Several passages of Scripture tell us that at the Lord’s Second Coming there will be a great earthquake that upsets the topography of Israel (Isaiah 40:1-5, Ezekiel 38:18-22, Revelation 16:17-21, Zechariah 14:2-10).

It is reasonable to suppose that the Tribulation Temple will be destroyed by the final earthquake at Jesus’ appearing in glory, or by the final military invasion of Jerusalem during Armageddon.

Engineers have determined that the Millennial Temple being described by Ezekiel is much too large to fit on the current Temple Mount site.  It will be on a new site, called “the separation.”

I came across some fascinating historic information regarding the Mount of Olives.  Let me read something to you.

The Jewish calendar was extremely important in the religious life of the nation. The entire religious cycle of Jewish worship is based upon beginning the calendar on the correct day.

Accordingly, the Jewish calendar is based on a series of monthly cycles. The Feasts of the New Moon, Passover, Tabernacles and others were based on when each month began.

The appearance of the new moon was the key.  The Sanhedrin (the highest ruling body in Israel) had the sole authority to decide when the new moon appeared.  A special court of three was delegated the task to test witnesses who would testify that they had seen the new moon.

Once a determination was made by a court of three, a fire signal went out to inform the Jewish people everywhere of the new month. The fire signals began at the Mount of Olives.

The Junior Jewish Encyclopedia said this about the fire signals:

“In ancient times, before astronomical calculations were made mathematically exact, the people of Judea watched the skies for the appearance of the new moon.  As soon as it was spotted by witnesses, great bonfires were lit on the hilltops to speed the news.  Burning torches signaled from mountain to mountain, beginning with Jerusalem’s Mount
of Olives and on as far as the Babylonian frontier.”

As Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, it was the greatest signal fire of all history!  His disciples went from there spreading the news of His life, death, and resurrection to the darkest parts of the globe.

When Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, it will again be a great signal to the world.

Another interesting fact about the Mount of Olives.  Perhaps you knew this but it was news to me.

From Biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. The necropolis on the southern ridge… was the burial place of the city’s most important citizens in the period of the Biblical kings.  There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associated with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi…

Let’s talk about the east gate.  It is sometimes referred to as the Golden Gate.  It was the main gate to the first and second Temples.  It was through this gate that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as the crowds hailed Him as King.

Ezekiel mentions this east gate again in chapter forty-four.

Ezekiel 44:1  Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut.
Ezekiel 44:2  And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.
Ezekiel 44:3  As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”

According to several sources I researched, the current east gate of the Second Temple was sealed centuries ago and remains sealed today.  Here’s an example of what you’ll find if you search it out.

It is interesting that this gate is the only one of the eight gates in Jerusalem that is sealed. The Arabs believe that since the Jews expect that Messiah would come through this gate… they would try to prevent any possibility of His return.

… in 1517 when the Turks conquered Jerusalem under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent.  He commanded that the city’s ancient walls be rebuilt, and in the midst of this rebuilding project, for some unknown reason, he ordered that the Eastern Gate be sealed up with stones.

Legends abound as to why Suleiman closed the Gate.  The most believable one is that while the walls were being rebuilt, a rumor swept Jerusalem that the Messiah was coming.  Suleiman called together some Jewish rabbis and asked them to tell him about the Messiah.  They described the Messiah as a great military leader who would be sent by God from the east. He would enter the Eastern Gate and liberate the city from foreign control.

Suleiman then decided to put an end to Jewish hopes by ordering the Eastern Gate sealed.  He also put a Muslim cemetery in front of the Gate, believing that no Jewish holy man would defile himself by walking through a Muslim cemetery.

This is interesting, but as we’ve said, the Millennial Temple will not share the same locale as the current Temple ruins.  The Bible Knowledge Commentary notes this and says,

Some have thought that the “Golden Gate” of Jerusalem, now sealed, is the gate spoken of here.  However, the dimensions of the “Golden Gate” do not correspond with Ezekiel’s gate, which is still future.
The point of verses one through three of chapter forty-four seems to be that when Jesus returns only He will use the east gate of the Temple – no one else.  He will initially enter the Temple through it and it will be His to use exclusively.

Ezekiel was overcome.  He “fell on [his] face” at the vision of the return of the Lord to the Temple.

The Holy Spirit lifted him up!  Instead of being prone, the Spirit wanted him upright and able to witness the moment when the “glory of the Lord filled the temple.”

We often think that the most powerful manifestations of God in our midst will overcome us, knock us down, render us incapacitated.  That certainly can happen.  I can’t help but think of Saul in the Old Testament being overcome by the spirit of prophecy.  Or Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road being overcome by Jesus.

But here there was a powerful manifestations of the presence of God in which the Lord specifically wanted his prophet to be on his feet, on duty, witnessing and recording everything.

It can be hard for us individually and corporately to stay balanced in this area of God manifesting Himself to us by His Spirit.

On the one hand we see all manner of excesses in which the Holy Spirit gets blamed for fleshly, weird behaviors.
On the other hand we can be so quick to quench anything that is out of the ordinary even though it may fit within biblical parameters.

Every now and then a movement will occur in which the Holy Spirit seems to be doing remarkable things.  Problem is, some of those things are simply unbiblical.  The explanation put forth by the proponents is that when the Spirit moves, initially there will be excesses.  This, they say, is to be expected.
In other words, anything goes!

No, when it’s really the Holy Spirit, it won’t violate anything biblical.  It may be unusual but it won’t, it can’t, be unbiblical.

Here’s something to consider.  Jonathan Edwards was a great preacher, theologian, and missionary.  He’s considered a hero in the Puritan heritage and by those who adhere to Reformed theology.  He was pretty conservative.

He was also involved in a notable revival.  Listen to this tidbit, from a D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones essay on that revival.

[Edwards] had to defend a number of unusual and remarkable phenomena that occurred in the revival of the 1740’S.  He had to defend, and does defend, the fact that even the body may be affected.  Edwards’ wife, on one occasion, exhibited the phenomenon which is known as levitation.  She was literally carried from one part of the room to another without making any effort or exertion herself.  Sometimes people would swoon and become unconscious in meetings.

Does that sound unbiblical?  Not really – at least not the ‘levitation.’  After all, aren’t there several instances of Bible characters being supernaturally transported from one physical location to another?

We don’t want to go all Corinthian, but neither do we want to become ‘quenchers.’

May our Lord lead and guide as He manifests Himself to us in these Last Days!

The Cohen Brothers (Ezekiel 42v1-20)

TITLE: “The Cohen Brothers’ Millennial Temple”
TEXT: Ezekiel 42:1-20

As background to our study tonight I’d like to read a September 9, 2010,  article from an Atlanta newspaper titled, The Cohen Gene – Key to a Prophetic Priesthood?1

A few years ago, Dr. Karl Skorecki, a nephrologist and researcher at the University of Toronto and Israel’s Rambam-Technion Medical Center, had an interesting thought.  He speculated that the Kohanim, a family line that descends from Aaron, the brother of Moses, according to Jewish tradition, might be genetically distinct from other Jews and gentiles.  Skorecki reasoned that if the Kohanim, the Cohens, were descended from one man, Aaron, as the Bible asserts then they would have common genetic markers.

The Cohens are mentioned in the Bible as far back as 2Kings 17:27-28.  In fact, the term “cohanim…” often seems used interchangeably with the word “priests” in Jewish sources.

Fathers pass Y-chromosomes to their sons.  The Y-chromosome does accumulate mutations, but is otherwise the same as a man’s ancient male ancestors.  These combinations of mutations are known as haplotypes.

The study showed that over 98% of Cohen Jews possessed a particular genetic marker (YAP).  Non-Cohen Jews possessed the marker in significantly lower percentages.
A second study confirmed the results and showed that over 91% of Cohens possess six chromosomal markers now known as the Cohen Modal Haplotype (CMH).  The CMH is common in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews and indicates a common ancestor for both European and Mediterranean Jews.

By counting the mutations in the Y-chromosome, researchers calculate that the Cohen line goes back approximately 106 generations or roughly 3,300 years.  This is the approximate time of the Exodus from Egypt.

Further, the research showed that the Levites, the tribe from which Aaron came, are not as genetically distinct as the Cohens.

In the second part of the two part article the author stated the following:

The preservation of the Cohen line matters for a couple of reasons.

First, it offers support for the Bible’s version of Jewish history.  The fact that the Cohens have preserved their family line since the days of Aaron speaks to the importance placed on preserving the priestly line.
Second, it makes a feasible a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that a new Temple will be built.2

This is really, really big news on the prophetic front.  Jews can know, scientifically, who are the priests that have the biblical right to serve in the Tribulation Temple.

Our text looks past the Tribulation Temple to the Millennial Temple.  Priests will serve in it as well.

In chapter forty-two the Lord described to Ezekiel the chambers the priests will utilize.

Ezekiel 42:1  Then he brought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the north; and he brought me into the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north.
Ezekiel 42:2  Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door.
Ezekiel 42:3  Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the pavement of the outer court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.
Ezekiel 42:4  In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north.
Ezekiel 42:5  Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building.
Ezekiel 42:6  For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up.
Ezekiel 42:7  And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers, at the front of the chambers, toward the outer court; its length was fifty cubits.
Ezekiel 42:8  The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one hundred cubits.
Ezekiel 42:9  At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.
Ezekiel 42:10  Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building.
Ezekiel 42:11  There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan.
Ezekiel 42:12  And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk, the way directly in front of the wall toward the east.

In Ezekiel 40:44 we saw dwelling-places for the priests during their administration of the service in the holy place and at the altar.  These are for a different purpose, stated in verses thirteen and fourteen.

Ezekiel 42:13  Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings – the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering – for the place is holy.
Ezekiel 42:14  When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people.”

In the Old Testament the priest was an intermediary between God and man.  The worshiper would bring his sacrifice only as far as the brazen altar.  The priest took it from there, bringing it into the holy place.  It represented the separation that existed between sinful man and a holy God.

The parts of the offerings not consumed by the Lord were for the priests to consume.  These chambers will be where they partake of those meals.

These chambers will also serve as closets for the garments the priests wear when serving.  These garments will be described later on in Ezekiel.

It seems every week we keep asking questions about why there is a Millennial Temple with sacrifices and a priesthood.  After all, wasn’t the veil in the first century Temple torn in two by God when Jesus died on the Cross to signify that the way into God’s presence was open to all who trusted in Christ?  Why, then, would the Lord reinstate a priesthood of any kind?

Thomas Ice is a Bible teacher and scholar we trust.  He has this perspective on the Millennial Temple and its rites and rituals.

Critics of future millennial sacrifices seem to assume that all sacrifices, past and future, always depict Christ’s final sacrifice for sin.  They do not!  There were various purposes for sacrifice in the Bible.  Many of the sacrifices under the Mosaic system were purification rituals.

The purpose for a Temple throughout Scripture has been to establish a location upon earth (which is under the curse of sin) for the presence of God that reveals through its ritual God’s great holiness.  God’s plan for Israel includes a relation to them through a Temple since He wants to dwell in the midst of His people.

Currently the church is God’s spiritual Temple made of living stones. The Millennium will return history to a time when Israel will be God’s mediatory people but will also continue to be a time in which sin will be present upon the earth.  Thus, God will include a new Temple, a new priesthood, a new Law, etc., at this future time because He will be present in Israel and still desires to teach that holiness is required to approach Him.

This is contrasted with the fact that no Temple will exist in eternity because God and the Lamb are the Temple since there will be no sin in heaven,thus no need for ritual cleansing.

There is no contradiction to the Cross of Jesus Christ by the existence of a future Temple on the earth.  There will still be billions of people who are born sinners who will need to see to understand that God is holy and they are separated from Him.  The Millennial Temple and its priesthood will illustrate separation and the need for salvation.

Verses fifteen through twenty move outside to give us the external dimensions of the project.

Ezekiel 42:15  Now when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the east, and measured it all around.
Ezekiel 42:16  He measured the east side with the measuring rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around.
Ezekiel 42:17  He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around.
Ezekiel 42:18  He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod.
Ezekiel 42:19  He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod.
Ezekiel 42:20  He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the common.

The total area occupied by this temple area was 765,625 square feet – enough square feet for more than 13 football fields!

Our thrice-holy God was present on earth in former times in the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple.  It’s rites and rituals saved no one!  People were saved when believing in God they were justified by Him.  The Temple simply but powerfully demonstrated that mankind is separated from God by sin and in need of salvation.

Jesus Christ will be literally, physically present on the earth in the Millennium.  The Temple, with its rites and rituals, will save no one.  People will be saved when they believe God and are justified by Him.  The Millennial Temple will simply but powerfully demonstrate that mankind is still separated from God by sin and in need of salvation.

Mean time something incredible, something unheard of in the Old Testament, is taking place.  God says His Temple is within us individually, as Christians, and within us corporately, as the church.

Individually:
1 Corinthians 6:19  Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Corporately:
1 Corinthians 3:16  Do you not know that you [plural] are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Probably the New Testament passage that most amplifies our roles as and in the current ‘temples’ on earth now is First Peter 2:5-10.

1 Peter 2:5  you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:6  Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHIEF CORNERSTONE, ELECT, PRECIOUS, AND HE WHO BELIEVES ON HIM WILL BY NO MEANS BE PUT TO SHAME.”
1 Peter 2:7  Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE,”
1 Peter 2:8  and “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
1 Peter 2:10  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

The kind of stones Peter was talking about were quarried from a rock-pit.  Every person who receives Jesus Christ as Savior is quarried from the rock-pit of sin.  You are then mortared into place by God’s grace.

The thing that first strikes me is that we are stones and not bricks or boards.  Bricks and boards are manufactured to exact specifications.  Likewise you order your wood in its pre-manufactured sizes.

Stones are not like that.  They are all different shapes and sizes; they are all very individual.  You, as a living stone, are individual to God and unique.

It requires a great deal of skill to form and shape stones into a building.  And these are living stones – indicating that their shape is constantly changing!

Living stones make for an interesting building.  A living stone is never quite finished.  Jesus goes on chiseling, grinding, buffing, smoothing you – all while you are mortared with other living stones.  Together by His skill we are being built-up a spiritual house.

The reference to the rejected stone had a long tradition among the Jews.  They recalled that when Solomon built the Temple, all the masonry work was performed at a distance from the site so that the sound of hammers, axes, and other tools was not heard.  Early in the construction a huge stone was delivered from the quarry.  Considerable work had been done upon it but no one could identify where in the building it belonged.  It was put aside as a misfit and lay on site unrecognized and useless.  When the building began to take shape and its capstone was called for, someone remembered this rejected stone which, when placed in the gap, was the perfect fit.

The memory of this incident was put into Psalm 118:22 and is quoted here.  When Jesus was on the earth He applied this Scripture directly to Himself.  Peter and Paul both picked-up on this imagery.  The chief cornerstone of the earthly Temple was a type of Jesus Who would be the foundation of a spiritual temple.

The Temple had and will have priests who offered sacrifices on behalf of the people.  You and I are the “priesthood” and we “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

What can you offer to God as a sacrifice?

According to Romans 12:1-2 you can offer your body as a living sacrifice.  You are not a volunteer; you are a servant.
According to Hebrews 13:15 you can offer the praise of your lips.
According to Hebrews 13:16 you can offer your good works you do for others.
According to Philippians 4:10-20 you can offer your money and other material possessions.

Israel was and remains God’s “chosen” nation.  He is not through with the physical descendants of Abraham.  But God has currently chosen a new “generation” of people.  It is all those who receive Jesus as their Savior, whether Jew or Gentile.  Jesus called this new generation the “church.”  It is the spiritual house which is being built on the foundation of Himself as the chief cornerstone.

The church is further described as a “royal priesthood, a holy nation.”  These words are a direct quote from Exodus 19:6.  This was to be Israel’s earthly destiny, and it will be again.  For now, in these last days, the church has taken Israel’s place as His priests in the spiritual house He is building on the earth.

You are “His own special people” until Jesus returns to take the church home to heaven.  You are His priests and people “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  We are the ones who are charged with the task of sharing Christ with unbelievers.  Rather than a drudgery, it is said to be a delight – “proclaim[ing] the praises” of Jesus.

Do people get from your life that God is praiseworthy?

You were once in “darkness” but are now walking in “His marvelous light.”  A person walking in the dark is tentative… Gets lost easily… Stumbles and falls.  Your relationship with God has brought you into the light of His revelation about His plan and purpose for all things – including your life and your future.  You can turn-on the light wherever you find yourself.

The word for “proclaim” could be translated advertise.  You are an advertisement for God!

Some ad campaigns are better than others.  Let’s be a good one!

Disregarders Of The Lost Ark (Ezekiel 41)

TITLE: DISREGARDERS OF THE LOST ARK

TEXT: EZEKIEL 41.1-26

SERIES: HARD TO HEART

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan prompted President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from the country by 12:01am Eastern Standard Time on February 20, 1980.

The United States was joined in the boycott by a few other countries – including Japan, West Germany, China, the Philippines and Canada.  The United Kingdom and France supported the boycott but allowed their athletes to participate if they wished.

Regardless your opinion on the effectiveness of the boycott, and regarding patriotism in general, many athletes missed the only opportunity they’d ever have to compete for something they’d trained for all their lives.

Ezekiel had missed an opportunity.  At the start of our studies we noted that although Ezekiel was a priest, he was exiled to Babylon before he was of age to actually serve in the Temple at Jerusalem.

To say it was a disappointment would be an understatement.  But now, as his visions are concluding and his book is nearing its end, Ezekiel is getting a glimpse of the future Temple, the Millennial Temple.  He saw it before any other Israelite, priest or otherwise.  Not only that, he was guided on his tour by the Lord Himself.

I think it more than made up for his missed opportunity in the sixth century!
What is it you and I may ‘miss’ as we are called upon to serve the Lord?  Seriously, there are sacrifices to be made if you are going to live for Jesus.

But rather than stew over them, get depressed by them, determine to look ahead to what the Lord has promised you.

As we follow Ezekiel on his tour I can’t help but think of the day I will be led by the Lord to the door of the mansion He’s been away preparing for me in a city He’s building for us, made of all the finest and most precious materials in all creation.

It’s a thought that has motivated saints for centuries.  In the famous Hall of Faith chapter (Hebrews 11), Abraham is described as going “out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance… And he went out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (v8-10).

Later in the chapter saints are described who “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (v37-38).

If you’re slightly discouraged about your situation, think of Ezekiel’s sneak-peak as an example of what is waiting for you.

In verses one through four Ezekiel was shown the holy of holies and the Most Holy Place.

Ezekiel 41:1  Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side – the width of the tabernacle.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.”

In the Old Testament Tabernacle and, later, Temple, the Most Holy Place was God’s special dwelling place in the midst of His people.  The Most Holy Place was a perfect cube — its length, width and height were all equal to 15 feet.  During the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness, God appeared as a pillar of cloud or fire in and above this chamber.

A thick curtain separated the holy of holies from the Most Holy Place. This curtain, known as the “veil,” was made of fine linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn.  There were figures of cherubim (angels) embroidered onto it. These cherubim were also on the innermost layer of covering of the tent. If one looked upward, they would see the cherubim figures.

The word “veil” in Hebrew means a screen, divider or separator that hides. What was this curtain hiding?  It was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God.  In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die.  Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement.

When Jesus died the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom.  It signified that the way into the presence of God was open to all through the mediation of Jesus.

The Lord takes Ezekiel into the holy place, the outer room, but not into the “Most Holy Place.”  He alone enters that chamber.

There’s no veil, signifying that access to the Lord is always available.  But there remains a separation to communicate to nonbelievers that God is holy.

The fact this Person guiding Ezekiel’s tour freely enters the Most Holy Place is perhaps the strongest evidence it is Jesus and not an angel.

Next Ezekiel was shown the rooms surrounding the Tabernacle rooms.

Ezekiel 41:5  Next, he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side.
Ezekiel 41:6  The side chambers 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 41:10  And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
Ezekiel 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.

Surrounding the temple will be three levels, three stories, of side rooms, one above another, thirty on each level.  In Solomon’s Temple these rooms were storerooms for the temple equipment and storage chambers for the people’s tithes and offerings.

Will there be tithes and offerings in the Millennium?  Apparently there will.

What does that suggest to you?  Mind you, it’s the Millennium and the Lord is on the earth and streams are breaking out in the desert.  God really doesn’t need anything.  He’s not broke.

It suggests that giving is important from the perspective of the giver. It’s good for you and I to give to God.

For one thing, giving is good because it causes you to get alone with God and take a look at how He’s blessed you, how He is caring for you.  Gratitude toward God will develop into generosity towards His people as you are encouraged to give to His work on earth.

Ezekiel next sees a building whose purpose and use remains undisclosed.

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

There is conjecture that this building will be where animal parts that are not part of the sacrifices will be taken in order to be disposed of.  They get that from the use of the word “separating.”  But really we’re not told exactly what it’s purpose will be.

Jesus did not feel the need to make a full disclosure of this building to Ezekiel.  It reminds me that I will not always be privileged to everything the Lord is doing as He builds in my life.  Some things will remain a mystery to me.

At many points I’m going to have to walk by faith, trusting that the Lord knows best for me.  Indeed, if He explained some things ahead of time, I’d probably refuse them!  Then I’d miss the lessons, the opportunities, the maturing that He deems needful along my journey home to Heaven.

Ezekiel next saw some “galleries.”

Ezekiel 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,
Ezekiel 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 –
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 41:18  And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 41:20  From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.

These “galleries” are something like terraced lofts.  I admit I’m having a hard time visualizing all this.  I’m not good at understanding things from a description.

What I would note in this section is the carvings.  We talked about this in our last study in Ezekiel but it bears repeating.  God is concerned with both function and form.  He likes beautiful things and He likes making things beautiful.

It is not automatically more spiritual to be a minimalist, or to do the very least in order to get by, or to be as plain as possible.  If you don’t have much to work with, you can still do your best, make it as nice as it can be.  If nothing else it can be clean, neat, picked-up.

Some people who assume less is better are really just lazy.

Your mansion, and the New Jerusalem, are going to be top-drawer, first rate.  No detail will be overlooked.  Until we get there we should be no less interested in details.

Finally, at least with regard to chapter forty-one, Ezekiel saw an altar.

Ezekiel 41:21  The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar.
Ezekiel 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.”
Ezekiel 41:23  The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
Ezekiel 41:24  The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door.
Ezekiel 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.
Ezekiel 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.
This altar corresponds to the altar of incense in the Old Testament Temple.

We need to be careful to make arguments from silence, but it is interesting to note that a lot of familiar items of Temple furniture are not listed.

Most notably you don’t see the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark of the Covenant is first mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 25.  Following Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, God instructs Moses to build the Tabernacle (or tent) in which the Israelites will worship God.  Placed in the Most Holy Place the Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred object in the Tabernacle.

Detailed instructions were given by God to construct the Ark.  It was to be made with acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Dimensionally, the Ark was to be 2.5 cubits long and 1.5 cubits wide and high.  Atop the Ark were two gold cherubs that stood with their wings covering an area of the Ark known as the “Mercy Seat.”

The Ark of the Covenant contained three items of extreme significance to the Israelites.

The first was two stone tablets bearing the divine inscription of the Ten Commandments.
The second item in the Ark was the rod of Aaron.  God miraculously caused Aaron’s rod to bud with blossoms to show the rest of the tribes of Israel that it was God’s will for Aaron to be in charge of the Priesthood (Numbers 17).
The last item was a golden pot of manna. Manna was the food God miraculously provided for the Israelites during their 40 years of desert wanderings (Exodus 16).

The Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586BC.

There are lots of theories as to where the Ark might be.  The Ethiopians claim that they have it.  In Israel the Temple Institute is the group replicating articles for the restoration of Temple sacrifice.  Here is what they say about the Ark.

Tradition records that even as King Solomon built the First Temple, he already knew, through Divine inspiration, that eventually it would be destroyed.  Thus Solomon, the wisest of all men, oversaw the construction of a vast system of labyrinths, mazes, chambers and corridors underneath the Temple Mount complex.  He commanded that a special place be built in the bowels of the earth, where the sacred vessels of the Temple could be hidden in case of approaching danger… tradition teaches that King Josiah of Israel, who lived about forty years before the destruction of the First Temple, commanded the Levites to hide the Ark, together with the original menorah and several other items, in this secret hiding place which Solomon had prepared.

This location is recorded in our sources, and today, there are those who know exactly where this chamber is.  And we know that the ark is still there, undisturbed, and waiting for the day when it will be revealed.

An attempt was made some few years ago to excavate towards the direction of this chamber.  This resulted in widespread Moslem unrest and rioting. They stand a great deal to lose if the Ark is revealed – for it will prove to the whole world that there really was a Holy Temple, and thus, that the Jews really do have a claim to the Temple Mount.

Quite honestly, I don’t think the Ark exists on earth anymore.  The Ark was probably lost or destroyed when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple.  If Jews had hidden it, the Ark would surely have been used in the Second Temple, which the historian Josephus says it wasn’t.

Furthermore, there is this passage from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 3:16  “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

This verse comes as quite a shock to some Christians who have assumed that the Ark must be found before the Tribulation Temple can be built and animal sacrifice reinstituted.  Others have simply assumed that the Ark would be replaced in the Holy of Holies when the Lord’s Millennial Temple is built.
I don’t expect the Ark to be found.  At any rate, it won’t be in the final Temple that is on the future earth because Jesus, the mediator of the new and better covenant, will be there.

Conceivably, the Ark could be discovered.  The context of this Jeremiah passage is the Millennial reign of Jesus so it does not rule out the possibility of a discovery prior to that time.  The important point to keep in mind here is that the rediscovery of the Ark is not essential to the rebuilding of the Temple.  After all, the Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel following the Babylonian captivity and the Ark had already been lost by that time.  There was no Ark in the Holy of Holies during the time when Jesus worshiped in the Temple.

In the detailed descriptions and measurements of Ezekiel’s vision we can be reminded of the glories to come for all who belong to God – a temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, which we shall not merely visit in a vision, but shall dwell in forever.

Measuring With The Ruler (Ezekiel 40v6-49)

TITLE: MEASURING WITH THE RULER
TEXT: EZEKIEL 40.6-49

A man with a measuring rod in his hand takes Ezekiel on a tour of the future Millennial Temple.  It’s none other than the Lord Himself.

John Gill writes of Him,

… there was a man; one in human form; not a created angel, but the Messiah, the builder and owner of the city and temple, whom it was proper the prophet should first have a view of; and by whom he was to be made acquainted with the several parts and dimensions of those buildings: he is called a “man,” not that he was a mere man, but the eternal God; or otherwise he would not have been fit to be the architect or builder of such a [structure]; nor as yet was he really man, but is so called, because it was determined he should, and it was agreed by him that he would become man, and it was foretold as a certain thing; and besides, he often appeared in a human form before his incarnation, as he now did, being most suitable to the prophet, and making himself more familiar to him…

Hence our title, “Measuring with the Ruler.”

Our devotional theme for the remaining chapters of Ezekiel is that God is an amazing builder.  Whether it’s a structure on the earth, like the Millennial Temple described in these chapters, or your mansion in Heaven, no detail is overlooked and the craftsmanship is perfect.

If you are like me you might get lost in the long, drawn-out description of the Temple.  If you do remind yourself that God is putting the same effort into your heavenly home and, in the mean time, into building you as the temple of His Spirit individually and us as His temple corporately.
Looking over these nine chapters they outline as follows:

40:1 – 43:2 describe the Millennial Temple.
43:3 – 46:24 describe the Millennial worship.
47:1 – 48:35 describe the new apportioning of land to the tribes of Israel.

We start with a detailed description of the east-facing gate.

Ezekiel 40:6  Then he went to the gateway which faced east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide.
Ezekiel 40:7  Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod.
Ezekiel 40:8  He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod.
Ezekiel 40:9  Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside.
Ezekiel 40:10  In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.
Ezekiel 40:11  He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
Ezekiel 40:12  There was a space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.
Ezekiel 40:13  Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door.
Ezekiel 40:14  He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court
all around the gateway extended to the gatepost.
Ezekiel 40:15  From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits.
Ezekiel 40:16  There were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were palm trees.

A “cubit” is approximately eighteen inches.  A “handbreadth” is approximately three and one-half inches.  A “rod” is about twelve feet.

I find it odd, at first, that these measurements are not more precise.  But I’ve been around enough master craftsmen to understand that measuring can become more of an art.  I was always amazed at my dad who, as a master mechanic, could look at a bolt and tell whether it was metric or SAE and what size it was.  A lot of contractors, though they still ‘measure twice and cut once,’ can often eyeball something and get it right.  How much more the Lord!

In chapter forty-four we will learn that this is the gate through which the Lord will enter the Temple.  Afterwards it will remain shut; no man shall walk through it.

We read that “on each gatepost were palm trees.”  They were engraved.

Why palm trees?  Let me read this entry from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.

Branches of palms have been symbolically associated with several different ideas.  A palm branch is used in Isaiah 9:14; 19:15 to signify the “head,” the highest of the people… Palm branches appear from early times to have been associated with rejoicing.  On the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles the Hebrews were commanded to take branches of palms, with other trees, and rejoice before God (Leviticus 23:40)… The palm branch still forms the chief feature of the lulabh carried daily by every pious Jew to the synagogue, during the feast.  Later it was connected with the idea of triumph and victory.  Simon Maccabeus entered the Akra at Jerusalem after its capture, “with thanksgiving, and branches of palm trees, and with harps, and cymbals, and with viols, and hymns, and songs: because there was destroyed a great enemy out of Israel” (1Maccabees 13:51 the King James Version)… The same idea comes out in the use of palm branches by the multitudes who escorted Jesus to Jerusalem (John 12:13) and also in the vision of the “great multitude, which no man could number…. standing before the…. Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands” (Revelation 7:9).

Whatever else the palm may symbolize, it’s the engraving that catches our attention.  This Temple is functional but also beautiful.

The church, throughout history, has had a hard time balancing function and beauty.  We’re in a pendulum swing right now in which it is popular for evangelicals to have plain, warehouse-style buildings that are mostly functional.

Since God is such an elaborate builder, why do we assume it is more spiritual to build things that lack beauty?

Both function and form are important.  It’s up to us to keep them in perspective.

Verses seventeen through thirty-seven describe the outer and inner courts of the Temple.

Ezekiel 40:17  Then he brought me into the outer court; and there were chambers and a pavement made all around the court; thirty chambers faced the pavement.
Ezekiel 40:18  The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement.
Ezekiel 40:19  Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.
Ezekiel 40:20  On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width.
Ezekiel 40:21  Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
Ezekiel 40:22  Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees, had the same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archway was in front of it.
Ezekiel 40:23  A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway; and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.
Ezekiel 40:24  After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements.
Ezekiel 40:25  There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
Ezekiel 40:26  Seven steps led up to it, and its archway was in front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side.
Ezekiel 40:27  There was also a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.
Ezekiel 40:28  Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements.
Ezekiel 40:29  Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
Ezekiel 40:30  There were archways all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.
Ezekiel 40:31  Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.
Ezekiel 40:32  And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements.
Ezekiel 40:33  Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; and there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
Ezekiel 40:34  Its archways faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to it were eight steps.
Ezekiel 40:35  Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements –
Ezekiel 40:36  also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
Ezekiel 40:37  Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to it were eight steps.

I don’t really like palm trees!  But I’m sure I will be a big ‘fan’ of them in the future.

If you are an architect you’ve calculated from all these measurements that the sanctuary will form a square of five hundred cubits.

The chapter next describes the chambers for the priests who will serve in the Millennial Temple.

Ezekiel 40:38  There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering.
Ezekiel 40:39  In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.
Ezekiel 40:40  At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables.
Ezekiel 40:41  Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices.
Ezekiel 40:42  There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
Ezekiel 40:43  Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.
Ezekiel 40:44  Outside the inner gate were the chambers for the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the southern gateway.
Ezekiel 40:45  Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple.
Ezekiel 40:46  The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have
one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple.
Ezekiel 40:47  And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple.

We dealt, in our previous study, with the subject of animal sacrifices in the future Temple.  There definitely will be animal sacrifices.  They in no way take away from the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  The Old Testament sacrifices did not save you; they did not permanently atone for your sins.  They showed you the need for a Savior Who would be the Lamb of God and take away your sins.  People in the Millennial earth will have just as much need to be shown the horrors of sin and the need for a Savior.  Only in their case they will be looking back to the Cross rather than forward to it.

Think, too, of the Jews in the Millennial Kingdom.  Believing Jews of that era will have never celebrated a memorial of Jesus Christ’s death on their behalf.  We have one – communion.  Though bloodless, it’s nevertheless a memorial of shed blood.  The Millennial animal sacrifices will serve as a memorial celebration for the saved Jews of what their Messiah did on Calvary for them.

The mention of the sons of Zadok is pretty important.  In First Kings you learn that the Lord promised the sons of Zadok they would serve in the future Temple.  Their mention here by Ezekiel tells us this is a real future Temple, not some symbolic or allegorical one.  God will keep His promise, literally, to Zadok’s descendants.

The chapter ends describing the “vestibule,” or we would say, the porch.

Ezekiel 40:48  Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.
Ezekiel 40:49  The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.

Commentators like to point out that many of the details of this future Temple, and especially the porch, resemble Solomon’s Temple.  David is the one who planned that Temple, then turned the plans over to his son, Solomon, to build.

If the Millennial Temple resembles Solomon’s Temple, we can be sure that God isn’t the one copying the design!  No, God is the one who gave the design to David who passed it on faithfully to his son to implement.

Christians like to copy a successful design.  Here is what happens.  God does a work in and through a certain local church or affiliation of churches.  Other churches see it and want God to do the same work in their church.  So they figure out what the other church was doing and they start doing it.

This happens all the time on a national and even global scale.  Every few years the latest book is released touting a program and everyone gets on board.

It’s not always bad or wrong.  But if we want to copy a successful design we need look no further than the Book of Acts.  What was the plan?  What was the Program?

To receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then be witnesses.  That’s it.

Whatever we may adopt, let us never lose sight of the early church and her dependance – her total dependance – on the leading, the empowering, of God the Holy Spirit.

A Tour De Future (Ezekiel 40v1-5)

TITLE: A TOUR DE FUTURE

PASSAGE: EZEKIEL 40.1-5

Everyone who reads the last nine chapters of Ezekiel asks and therefore must answer this question: Will there be animal sacrifices in the Temple during the future Millennial Kingdom on the earth?

You have to ask because not too far into reading about the Millennial Temple you encounter 40:38-43.

Ezekiel 40:38  There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering.
Ezekiel 40:39  In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.
Ezekiel 40:40  At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables.
Ezekiel 40:41  Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices.
Ezekiel 40:42  There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
Ezekiel 40:43  Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.

The answer to the question, ‘“Will there be animal sacrifices in the Temple at Jerusalem during the future Millennial Kingdom on Earth?,” is “Yes!”

Ezekiel is not the only book that says animals will be sacrificed in the future kingdom.
Isaiah 56:6  “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants – Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant –
Isaiah 56:7  Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 56:8  The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

Zechariah 14:16  And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

(The Feast of Tabernacles involves lots of animals being slaughtered and sacrificed).

Jeremiah 33:15  ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Jeremiah 33:16  In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
Jeremiah 33:17  “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
Jeremiah 33:18  nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

“But,” critics say, “I thought Jesus’ death on the Cross abolished animal sacrifices once and for all?”
“But,” critics say, “I thought conditions on earth during the Millennial Kingdom would be near perfect, with lions lying down with lambs?”

Let’s talk about the place of sacrifices in relation to the Cross of Jesus Christ.  The sacrifices in the Old Testament never saved anyone!  A person was saved when they believed God and were justified by His grace.

The once-for-all sacrifice for sin by Jesus Christ was portrayed, it was illustrated, by the animal sacrifices.  One author put it like this: “The sacrificial system of the Mosaic covenant pictorialized the work of Jesus Christ in order that the Israelite might understand what the Messiah would accomplish on behalf of mankind.”

So, by themselves, sacrifices do not in any way diminish Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice on the Cross.  In the Old Testament they pointed forward to it.  In the Millennial Kingdom they will point back to it.  The Cross remains the focal point and salvation will be as it always has been, by grace alone through faith alone.

Thinking about folks looking back on the Cross brings us to the second criticism, that conditions on the Millennial earth will dictate against the slaughter of animals.  What you need to understand about those thousand years is that the inhabitants of the earth will still be in their natural human bodies.  They will still be sinners.  In fact, we read in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that at the end of the thousand years Satan is let loose from the Abyss to lead a rebellion of human beings against Jesus.

During that future time righteousness and holiness will prevail, but those with earthly bodies will still have a sin nature and there will be a need to teach about how offensive sin is to a holy and righteous God.  Animal sacrifices will serve that purpose.  “In those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year” (Hebrews 10:3) said the writer to the Hebrews regarding the Mosaic sacrifices.  The same need for a “reminder of sins year by year” will be needed in the future.

The conditions that will prevail during Christ’s reign over the earth might even make animal sacrifices more necessary.  I mean, those born in say year 500, are they really going to understand what it was like that Jesus was crucified on a Cross at Calvary?  They will as they participate in the Temple feasts and sacrifices.

Millions of children will be born who will still need to be born-again.  It’s hard enough in today’s fallen world to convince your kids there is real physical danger.  How hard will it be in a near perfect environment to convince them of a very real spiritual danger – that of perishing eternally separated from God?  Believe me, parents will need their kids to see animals sacrificed.

Scholars have compared the description of the feasts and sacrifices Ezekiel presents with those under the Law of Moses.  There are important differences.  Not all the feasts and articles of furniture described by Moses are included by Ezekiel.

There is no mention of the veil.  Why not?  Because with Jesus on the earth there will be no barrier between man and God.
There is no mention of the table of shewbread.  Why not?  Because Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, will be present.
There is no mention of lampstands.  Why not?  Because Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, is on earth.
There is no mention of the ark of the covenant.  It will be unnecessary because the glory of God will fill the earth.

The system of feasts and sacrifices Ezekiel describes is similar to the one in the Mosaic Law but different and specific to the Millennium.  That is to say, what Ezekiel is talking about is a real future system of worship that will be in effect in the Millennial Kingdom.

Here are two other random but interesting observations about Ezekiel’s description of things to come:

The land of Israel will be redistributed among the twelve tribes.  It will be divided into three areas.  Seven tribes will occupy the northern area and five the southern.  Between these areas there seems to be a section called “the holy oblation.”  It is a section set apart for the Lord.  Merrill Unger says, “The holy oblation [is] a spacious square, 34 miles each way, containing about 1160 square miles.  The Temple itself [is] located in the middle of this square, and not in the city of Jerusalem… upon a very high mountain, which will be miraculously made ready for that purpose when the Temple is to be erected.”
Four times in these chapters we’re told that the sons of Zadok will be assigned the priestly duties in the Temple.  Zadok was a priest in King David’s time.  Because of his unwavering loyalty he was promised that his offspring would have this glorious posting.

Looking over these nine chapters they outline as follows:

40:1 – 43:2 describe the Millennial Temple.
43:3 – 46:24 describe the Millennial worship.
47:1 – 48:35 describe the new apportioning of land to the tribes of Israel.

Let’s get started by looking at verses one through five of chapter forty.

Ezekiel 40:1  In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the Lord was upon me; and He took me there.

The date was sometime in 573BC. The phrase “the beginning of the year” isn’t easy to pin down.

The Israelite religious new year began in Nisan (April-May) and was established at the time of the Exodus.
However, in Israel’s later history the seventh month, Tishri (October-November), became established as the first month of Israel’s civil year.

So the date could be either April 28, 573BC or October 22, 573BC. The October date was also the Day of Atonement.

God “took” Ezekiel to Jerusalem.  He transported him to the future by means of waking visions.

What a crazy ministry Ezekiel had!

Ezekiel 40:2  In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.

Ezekiel is going to go on a tour of the future Temple which he records in painstaking detail.

Ezekiel 40:3  He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

Since this “man” is later called “Lord,” we believe it is a Christophany – an Old Testament appearance in bodily form by Jesus Christ.

Ezekiel 40:4  And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”

Ezekiel is told to give the tour his full and undivided attention.  That strikes me as odd.  Here he was, transported by a waking vision to the future and in the presence of the Lord.  Does he really need to be told to pay attention?  Apparently he did.

How much more, then, do we need to be reminded to pay attention to the things the Lord is showing us, telling us, teaching us.

Ezekiel 40:5  Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

A “cubit” is somewhere around 18 inches and a “handbreadth” about three and one-half inches.  It may not sound like much of a tool but, man, will He show Ezekiel an awful lot using it!

It’s not so much the tool as it is the Craftsman using it.  When it’s the Lord, He can accomplish all His heart desires.

If this is the Lord in a Christophany, we see that He loves to plan and to build.  We know that Jesus created the universe:

Colossians 1:15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Colossians 1:16  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

When the Lord was on the earth He said He would build His church:

Matthew 16:18  … on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

In Heaven, while we are awaiting His return, He said He’d be building our mansions:

John 14:1  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:2  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

You are His work, too.  Individually we are each called His temple on the earth today.

He’s building into your life those things that will endure for eternity.  He can use anything, really, to accomplish His project in you.  Things fall usually into two categories: They are either blessings or buffetings, or you might say times of abounding and times of being abased.

The thing that will strike you and, I daresay bore you, about these nine chapters is the attention to detail.  Much as we want to care about every last thread, we’re not Israel.

But you are His project and He who began this good work in you has promised to complete it.  Jesus puts the same attention to detail into your life – and that is something we each ought to get excited about!

Mountain Doom (Ezekiel 39v1-29)

TITLE: MOUNTAIN DOOM
PASSAGE: EZEKIEL 39:1-29

Ezekiel 39:1  “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal;

Chapter thirty-nine one reads just like chapter thirty-eight three.  The wording is the same.

Arnold Fruchtenbaum is a name you should remember.  He writes extensively on the place of Israel in evangelical thought and theology.  There is an interpretative principle he calls The Law of Recurrence and he says it occurs in chapter thirty-nine.  He describes it as follows:

This [law of recurrence] describes the fact that in some passages of Scripture there exists the recording of an event followed by a second recording of the same event giving more details to the first.  Hence, it often involves two blocks of Scripture.  The first block presents a description of an event as it transpires in chronological sequence.  This is followed by a second block of Scripture dealing with the same event and the same period of time, but giving further details as to what transpires in the course of the event.

The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is like that.  There is a clear chronology of events if you follow the opening of the seven seals.  In-between there are chapters that fill-in the details.

Ezekiel thirty-nine goes deeper into certain details of chapter thirty-eight.

Ezekiel 39:2  and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.

Once again I would remind you of our finding that the magnetic north pole is shifting rapidly toward Russia.  The invaders come from “the far north” and that is clearly Russia even without the pole shift, but I find it amazing anyway.

Ezekiel 39:3  Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand.

This could be figurative language, using “bow” and “arrows” to stand for whatever weapons the invaders possess.  Or, as we have suggested, the unusual times in which the invasion occurs may call for just such weaponry to be employed as this army comes on horseback.

Either way it is clear that God personally intervenes.  This is not a victory for the Israeli forces or any human defender of Israel.  God Himself fights for His elect nation.

It’s an important point because often we read into the text our own ideas of what might occur.  No human means or implements are going to be involved.  It’s all God defeating Gog because through it God will be magnified and get the glory.

Ezekiel 39:4  You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Ezekiel 39:5  You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.

Arnold Fruchtenbaum has an interesting comment about the mountains of Israel:

They extend the length of the center of the country, beginning at the southern point of the Valley of Jezreel at the town of Jenin in Galilee (biblical Ein Ganim), and continuing south until they peter out at a point north of Beersheha in the Negev.  These mountains contain the famous biblical cities of Dothan, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Bethel, Ai, Ramah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Debir, and most importantly, Jerusalem, which seems to be the goal of the invading army.

Here is another example where the Six Day War has set the stage for the fulfillment of prophecy.  Up to the Six Day War in 1967 all of the mountains of Israel, except for a small corridor of West Jerusalem, were entirely in the hands of the Jordanian Arabs.  Only since 1967 have the mountains of Israel been in Israel, thus setting the stage for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

The phrase in verse four, “I will give you,” literally translated is, “I have given you.”  It doesn’t mean it has already happened.  It’s in a tense scholars call the prophetic perfect.  Even though it is future, since it is the Lord making the prophecy then it is certain to take place.  God can talk about events future to us as having already happened because He knows He will bring them to pass.

Ezekiel 39:5  You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God.

The invaders never get very close to Jerusalem.  They are slaughtered when still some distance away.

Ezekiel 39:6  “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.

This seems to be “fire” from Heaven, a la fire and brimstone.  Not only are the invaders attacked, but God attacks their homelands as well.

I should mention that there are those who see this as some sort of nuclear exchange.  But the text clearly says indicates it is God who brings this fire.  God is not going to need a nuclear bomb, or help from human technology or armies, to defeat Gog and his forces.  In fact, as I indicated, any such help nullifies the fact God gets the glory for all this.

Ezekiel 39:7  So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

God makes His name “holy” through these events.  All the nations “know” that the God of Israel is God.

It doesn’t mean that all the nations are saved.  Only that they have irrefutable evidence to the fact that God exists, the God of the Bible, the God of Israel.

Notice God says “I will not let them profane My holy name anymore.”  Up until that point in history God is allowing Himself to be profaned by mankind.

One way God is allowing His name to be profaned has been the scattering and persecution of His elect nation.  I mean, just on the surface if you tell a nonbeliever that the Jews are the apple of God’s eye, and they are at all familiar with the history of Israel from the sixth century until the twentieth century, they’re going to think God is either unloving or that He is not all-powerful.

Another way God’s name is profaned is by scoffers who say, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’  They say that everything is continuing just as before and that God is not at work in human history.  Some would go so far as to admit He may have been at work at one time, but not any longer.

God has told us exactly what He is doing.  The apostle Paul tells us at the end of the Book of Acts that because the nation of Israel has rejected Jesus Christ, the Gospel will go out into the world, to the Gentiles, and we will hear it.

Israel was set aside, but only temporarily and partially.  And in their setting aside, the Gospel was turned to the Gentiles.  After the Gentiles fullness has come in, after the church is complete (that’s what that means) God will go back and redeem Israel.  Zechariah tells us exactly how. He says, “They will look on Him whom they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as an only son.”

When God defeats Gog, then all the nations will know He is God.  It will be a major end times event.

By the way, this is another reason why I think that the invasion by these opponents of Israel must occur before the end of the Great Tribulation and not in or at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.  When Jesus Christ returns to earth in His Second Coming and establishes the Kingdom, it will be pretty clear to the nations that He is God!  They still do not all receive Him, but they’ll know.
Ezekiel 39:8  Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken.

God is really, really emphasizing this prophecy.  Chapter thirty-nine is already a restating of chapter thirty-eight.  As if the repetition isn’t enough, God says, I’m really going to do this!

Ezekiel 39:9  “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years.
Ezekiel 39:10  They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

Some see the “seven years” as a clue that this invasion must take place prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation.  Here is their argument:

If this battle takes place after the Rapture but before the [Great Tribulation] begins, there would be ample time and the freedom of movement even through the first half of the Tribulation (the time of pseudo-peace for Israel under the Antichrist’s covenant) to accomplish this job.  Moreover, the statement about not needing to gather firewood from the forests (verse 10) would make more sense than after the first trumpet judgment when one-third of the trees were burned up (Revelation 8:7).  If this battle were to take place at any point in the Tribulation the people would run out of time to complete this task, before the intensified persecution of the final 42 months (Matthew 24:16-22) that drives the Jewish Remnant into the wilderness to escape the Satanic onslaught (Revelation 12:6).  While there is no reason why the burning of weapons for firewood could not continue into the Millennial Kingdom, since during this time other weapons will be converted to peaceful and productive uses (Isaiah 2:4), the renewal of nature and increased productivity of this age (Isaiah 27:6; Zechariah 8:12; Micah 4:4) could argue against this necessity.

Notice those who hold this position are willing to concede “there is no reason why the burning… could not continue into the Millennial Kingdom.”

I feel that the more important clue as to the timing of this event is that Israel will be dwelling in peace when this invasion occurs.  It seems to me the most likely time for that is during the first part of the Great Tribulation as the antichrist guarantees the peace of Israel.

If that is true, then the invasion will occur after the Rapture, sometime after the peace treaty is signed but before the antichrist defiles Israel’s Temple right at the mid-point of the Great Tribulation.

As far as burning these weapons into the second half of the Great Tribulation, just because Jews will flee from Jerusalem it doesn’t mean there will be no people in Israel to continue the burning.  The antichrist and his forces will obviously be there.

I don’t see a problem if the burning continues into the Millennial Kingdom. It’s not the creation of a new earth but the restoration of an earth ravaged by the judgments of the Great Tribulation.  It seems to me that the restoration of the earth will be somewhat gradual.

Ezekiel 39:11  “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog.
Ezekiel 39:12  For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
Ezekiel 39:13  Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God.

I’m thinking this burial of bodies occurs as soon as the slaughter is over and then continues for seven months.  This slaughter ends during a time when travelers are still on the roads.  This would be true if the invasion occurs either before the Great Tribulation or in its opening years.  I don’t see it being true during the last part of the Great Tribulation, after the antichrist has started his persecution of Israel.  Jews will be fleeing for their lives, not worrying about cleansing their land or keeping the roads clear for travelers.

Ezekiel 39:14  “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search.
Ezekiel 39:15  The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog.
Ezekiel 39:16  The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.” ‘

Even after the initial cleanup, squads of men will be employed to search the land for additional remains.  As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it.  Then as gravediggers see the markers they will take the remains to the Valley of Hamon Gog for burial.  The operation will be so vast that a town will be set up in the valley at the gravesites to accommodate those cleansing the land.

Why all this detail about the bodies?  If you were a Jew hearing this for the first time, and it was in the context of God working to restore both the land of Israel and Israelites, you’d have questions about how the land could be cleansed because dead bodies and blood on that scale will ceremonially defile the land.  You’d think of this through the Law with its requirements for cleansing things that came into contact with death and with blood.

Ezekiel 39:17  “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
Ezekiel 39:18  You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan.
Ezekiel 39:19  You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you.
Ezekiel 39:20  You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.

This expands upon verse four.  It pictures an inglorious end to the invaders.  As gross as it will be, it will be evident that something supernatural is taking place.  God must be bringing these birds and beasts to do His bidding.  It will be understood as a divine intervention in nature.

As the chapter closes God tells us His purposes in all these things.

Ezekiel 39:21  “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
Ezekiel 39:22  So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward.
Ezekiel 39:23  The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.

Remember that Ezekiel is addressing Jews in exile in Babylon in the sixth century just as Jerusalem is falling and the Temple is being burned.  From that time continuing even now is the times of the Gentiles.  God has been using Gentile world powers to discipline His people.

When the events of Ezekiel 38 & 39 break out, Jew and Gentile are on notice that God is going to absolutely fulfill His unconditional promises to Israel.

Ezekiel 39:24  According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ‘

That’s an accurate assessment, is it not, of God’s dealing with Israel the past several centuries?

Ezekiel 39:25  “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name –
Ezekiel 39:26  after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.

God is describing a time in which He regathers Jews to their land, AND they “dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.”  Again I see this as future to us, in the Great Tribulation’s very beginning, when their safety is guaranteed by a peace treaty.

Ezekiel 39:27  When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
Ezekiel 39:28  then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.

The hallowing is referring to God’s destruction of Gog.  The Jews themselves will realize that their centuries of suffering were a deserved discipline.
Ezekiel 39:29  And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

The ultimate end of these events is the total salvation of Israel.  All the Jews who survive the Great Tribulation will believe, be born-again, and receive the Holy Spirit.  God’s historical work in disciplining them and regathering them and restoring them will result in them being regenerated.

So that’s the famous passage from Ezekiel – 38 & 39.  At some point in history future to us God is going to draw a coalition of nations led by Russia to attack Israel when she is dwelling in peace.

I’ve suggested a certain timing but we’re not certain exactly when this event will occur.

It is interesting, fascinating, to see nations aligning against Israel just as predicted in this passage.

And it’s amazing, mind-blowing to read about the magnetic north pole shifting more towards Russia, making the predictions of Ezekiel that the invasion comes from the north extremely literal.

God is on the move!

Quake Boss (Ezekiel 38v14-23)

TITLE: QUAKE BOSS

TEXT: EZEKIEL 38.14-23

You gotta love submarine movies.  The Hunt for Red October.  K19.  Run Silent, Run Deep.  U-571.

Crimson Tide is certainly one of the best.  I’m pretty sure it’s in Crimson Tide where there is some dialog between characters about what is the best submarine movie.

Then there’s Das Boot.  I heard from experts it was a classic.  We rented it.  Didn’t know it was in German with sub-titles (no pun intended!).  To this day Pam won’t let me forget that I fell asleep during most of it.

The parts I recall are of a German sub trying to complete it’s mission in WWII.  They go from a storm to depth charges to a surface attack by a fighter plane.  At one point they dive and cannot surface.  Just before reaching crush depth they land on a shelf.  Just before running out of oxygen they resurface and limp home.

They return on Christmas Eve to an attack on their facilities.  Finally the captain, suffering from multiple bullet wounds, watches as the sub sinks.  He collapses and dies.

Reading about what is going to happen to the armies of Gog when they invade from the north reminded me of the futility of Das Boot.  It’s a doomed invasion from the start.  Before ever getting near Israel there is a mighty earthquake.  It’s so disorienting that the soldiers turn upon one another and kill one another.  If you think you can escape the earthquake or being hacked to pieces, you’re wrong, because next comes “pestilence and bloodshed” and “flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” from out of the sky.

God will defeat Gog and all the world will watch in awe.

Ezekiel 38:14  “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?

The idea here seems to be that you will know this invasion is imminent “on that day” when Israel is dwelling “safely” in her land.  This idea of her safety has been our litmus test for when this invasion might occur.  It doesn’t mean Israel will be without enemies.  It means she will have a sense of safety.  That’s why I tend to think the invasion is after the world leader we know as the antichrist enters into a peace treaty with Israel guaranteeing her safety.

The only other time this would make sense is at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, just before the final revolt against God led by Satan.  Indeed, some scholars see this invasion by Gog as the one spoken of in the Revelation at the end of the Millennium.  But we’re skeptical of that for reasons we’ve already discussed, e.g., the opposition is much more broad and inclusive at the end of the Millenium than the invasion described here.

Ezekiel 38:15  Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.

Gog’s “place, we learned earlier, was the remotest parts of the north.  I’m told that if you draw a line from Jerusalem to the North Pole it will come very close to modern Moscow.

Do you know that the North Pole is shifting?  The magnetic North Pole, that is – not the geographical one.  Listen to this quote from National Geographic:

Over the past century the pole has moved 685 miles (1,100 kilometers) from Arctic Canada toward Siberia, says Joe Stoner, a paleomagnetist at Oregon State University.
At its current rate the pole could move to Siberia within the next half-century, Stoner said.

“It’s moving really fast,” he said. “We’re seeing something that hasn’t happened for at least 500 years.”

Lorne McKee, a geomagnetic scientist at Natural Resources Canada, says that Stoner’s data fits his own readings.

“The movement of the pole definitely appears to be accelerating,” he said.

Another NatGeo article said, “Earth’s magnetic North Pole is racing towards Russia at almost 40 miles a year due to magnetic changes in the planet’s core.”

I’m not making this stuff up!

In fact, the only possible country that is to the extreme north of Israel is Russia.  The country of Russia begins north of the Black Sea in Southern Russia and is the only country north of the Black Sea.  Since we do not have many choices, one out of one, it is clear that Gog’s country is Russia!

We’ve already talked about the size of the invading force that comes against Israel and why we believe they will literally be on horseback.  If it’s near the middle of the Great Tribulation, certain geophysical changes will have occurred making traditional warfare impossible.

Ezekiel 38:16  You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”

God claims ownership of the land and relationship to the Jews.  Both are His.

Let me go off on a tangent here for a minute.  It’s suggested by the fact that Israel plays so prominent a role in the Bible.

Israel is one of the Bible’s main subjects, mentioned well over 2500 times.  Any system of theology that suggests God is through with Israel as an ethnic people, or that another group has somehow replaced Israel, is wrong.  And if it is wrong on Israel, such a huge and important subject, it will be wrong in other areas as well.

There is a lot of theological discussion about God’s foreknowledge, about election, about predestination.  I think we need to keep Israel in that discussion.

Paul says of Israel in the New Testament, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:2).  The nation of Israel is often described as God’s elect (e.g., Isaiah 45:3).

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary has this entry regarding Israel and predestination:

From the call of Abraham his descendants, in particular the progeny of Jacob/Israel, are predestined to fulfill the purpose that God has for them. They are to be seen in the world as his people (Psalm 33:11-12 ), holy and obedient to him, living to his praise, a priestly nation bringing the knowledge of God to other nations.

There are systems of theology that focus on very particular definitions of predestination, election and foreknowledge.  Those same systems of theology deny or ignore the place of Israel as a nation in God’s plans.

If they are clearly wrong about Israel’s predestination, election and foreknowledge, then why would we think they are right when discussing those doctrines in relation to us?

Back to our text:

Ezekiel 38:17  Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?
Ezekiel 38:18  “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face.

Hmm.  This begs the question, ‘Where in the Old Testament has God spoken of this before?’
Truth is, Gog isn’t directly mentioned in any other Old Testament passages, so scholars have a hard time with this.  I haven’t found their answers very satisfying.  They say, for example, that other nations in other prophecies are ‘typical’ of Gog.  Seems a stretch.

My own suggestion would be this.  There are a lot of prophets and their prophecies that did not make their way into the Old Testament.  For example: We know that Enoch was a prophet who prophesied, but we don’t know everything he said.

The text may be referring to an oral tradition of prophecy that would have been well known to the Jews in exile that Ezekiel was addressing.

How is God going to show His wrath and defeat this invading army?

Ezekiel 38:19  For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,
Ezekiel 38:20  so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’
Ezekiel 38:21  I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.

A divinely appointed earthquake will be so severe as to disorient Gog’s forces and cause them in the confusion to fight each other.  Remember that they come from many nations and it’s not at all hard to envision them turning on one another.

Whenever there’s an earthquake, what do you always ask?  Two things:

Did you feel the earthquake?
Where was it centered?

The earthquake will apparently be felt just about everywhere!  The entire world’s attention will be focused on it.

It is clear from this passage that Israel and their excellent, modern military (including nuclear weapons) have nothing to do with the destruction of Gog and his allies.

In addition to the earthquake and all that goes with it, the Lord will use other means of defeating His enemies as indicated in verse twenty-two.

Ezekiel 38:22  And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

The first half of the verse tells us that the Lord will bring a pestilence that will cause the bloodshed or death of those in Gog’s army.  The second half of the verse describes things raining down on them.

Likely hailstones will target certain individuals.  You wouldn’t want to be anywhere near that field of battle!  Everywhere you turn there is some terrible way of being killed.

Ezekiel 38:23  Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ‘

Three things will result from God’s defeat of Gog:

First,  God shall “magnify” Himself.  It will focus the attention of the nations of the world on Israel and when the invaders are miraculously defeated God will suddenly be magnified.
Second, God will “sanctify” Himself.  He will demonstrate to all the watching world that He is separate from the laws of nature and rules over them to affect history in our space and time.
Third, the nations shall “know” the God is the Lord.  In context it means that everyone on earth will know that God is the God of Israel, the Lord of the earth, just as He’s been revealed through the Bible.

Though we don’t anticipate being around to see this massacre, believing we will be resurrected and raptured long before it occurs, we can still see signs it is drawing near.
These are the last days.  God is getting nations lined-up according to His centuries old prophecies.

Keep looking up!

Captain Hooked (Ezekiel 38.1-13)

TEXT: Ezekiel 38.1-13

TITLE: Captain Hooked

It’s going to be God versus Gog.

Ezekiel was told to “prophesy against him,” against Gog, the captain of these would be conquerers.  We might call him ‘Captain Hooked,’ because God says He will “put hooks into [his] jaws, and lead [him] out.

We’ve seen the participants in this end-times invasion.  We’ve discussed the various theories as to it’s timing, choosing as our current favorite around the middle of the seven year Great Tribulation.  Now we get into some of the other details.

Ezekiel 38:3  and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

God is active in the affairs of human history.  He raises up nations to serve His purposes.  He sees that nations are destroyed to serve His purposes.

What are His purposes?  One important one is to discipline His chosen nation, Israel.  Keep that in mind as you see the Lord dealing with Gog and his allies.

Ezekiel 38:4  I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.

God will “turn [Gog] around.  The captain of this host will be heading in a different direction when God will “put hooks into [his] jaws, and lead [him] out…”  A practice common to warfare in those days was for the conqueror to literally put hooks through the jaws of captives, chain them together, and lead them wherever they were taking them.

The imagery leaves no doubt that God is in control of these events.  In His sovereignty and by His divine providence, God draws these enemies of Israel away from their prior plans and down towards the Promised Land.

There are different hooks for different purposes.  Fisherman utilize a variety of hooks.  You might hang your bicycle in the garage on hooks.

What will be the hook God uses to draw this force down against Israel?  We can only speculate.

Years ago the prevalent speculation was that oil and gas would be found in Israel, and the northern coalition would come down to destroy Israel wanting to claim her resources.  Interestingly, vast oil and gas reserves have just recently been discovered in Israel.
Today there is speculation that Gog and his forces will act towards Israel the way the U.S. acted towards Iraq – invading to end an evil and achieve a greater purpose.  In the case of Gog it will be to destroy any non-Muslim influence in the region.

The hook will undoubtedly be something we haven’t considered that shows us how much smarter God is than we are!

Critics of a literal futurist understanding of this passage point to the fact that the text says that the invaders will be horsemen riding on horses and using weapons like swords and spears.  These are certainly not what we would expect given the current state of the military.

One argument is that the invasion force was being described in terms Ezekiel could comprehend with the understanding that whenever this invasion took place in the future the hostiles would be equipped with all the best modern weaponry of their era.
One problem which that explanation cannot account for is that the weaponry is said to be burned for seven years after the battle.  We don’t normally think of modern weapons fueling a bonfire.

Another solution is the obvious one.  That this really is an invasion mostly by cavalry, literally on horseback.

According to the American Museum of Natural History,

Though cavalry charges are now a thing of the past, there are still places where a horse is more useful than a truck.  In 2002, for example, during the war in Afghanistan, some U.S. Special Forces rode horses in areas where the rugged terrain and lack of fuel made automobiles impractical.

A 2006 web article called Don’t Hang Up Your Spurs Yet stated, “Russia is turning over guarding sections of its border to newly re-formed Cossack units.”

Another snippet from the world-wide-web confirms that, stating,

According to the press service of Russia’s FSB border guards division, in North Ossetia, in each border region of the Republic, Terek Cossack detachments of up to 20 armed fighters each have been formed.  After a quick training course, the Cossacks begin to protect the state border, as part of the border detail.

Following this thread I came across these comments:

For patrol and response in many parts of the Continental United States a horse-mounted infantry/border guard force makes a lot of sense.

Another quote:

In Russia, where horsemanship is part of the every-day life of many thousands of people, the Red Army is able to maintain one of the finest horse-mounted components in the world.

Interesting that Russia is at the forefront of mounted cavalry!

A guy by the name of Randall Price has this to say:
There is no reason why these basic weapons might not be used in a future battle, if the conditions or the stage of battle prevent the use of the more advanced technology.  Wars fought in certain rugged Middle Eastern terrains such as the mountainous region of Afghanistan (cf. 39:2-4) have required modern armies to use horses, and bows and arrows continue to be employed in various combat arenas.  In addition, if the battle takes place in the Tribulation period, the conditions predicted for that time, such as seismic activity, meteor showers, increased solar effects,and other cosmic and terrestrial catastrophes would so disrupt the environment that present technology depending on satellite and computer-guided systems as well as meteorological stability would utterly fail.  Under such conditions most of our modern weapons would be useless and more basic weapons would have to be substituted.

For now I take Ezekiel’s prophesy literally.  Let’s move on!

Ezekiel 38:7  “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.

Scholars agree this is sanctified sarcasm.  Gog and his forces are coming against God.  How can they “be ready”?  How can Gog “be a guard for them”?

Ezekiel 38:8  After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.

“After many days,” that is, “in the latter years.”  As we’ve established in previous studies, this is still future to us.

We also described how only modern Israel, born in our own age, could fulfill the remaining descriptions of verse eight.

And we talked at length about the phrase, “and now all of them dwell safely.”  We used it as a kind of litmus test to show when this prophecy could and could not be fulfilled, concluding it must be at least some time after the antichrist enforces a peace treaty with Israel.

Ezekiel 38:9  You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

It’s a massive invasion force that breaks like a “storm, covering the land like a cloud.”  Lot’s of recent films, like The Lord of the Rings, have captured this kind of imagery.

Verses ten through thirteen reveal the thoughts of the invaders.

Ezekiel 38:10  ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:

I discovered this week that the Hebrew language does not have a word for “mind.”  It is the Hebrew labeb that has the basic meaning of “inner man” or “heart,” used the way we use mind.

Even though God puts a hook in Gog’s jaw, He simultaneously attributes his behavior to Gog’s own “evil plan.”  God is sovereign.  Man is free and responsible for his choices.  Always.  You cannot emphasize one over the other.

Ezekiel 38:11  You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’ –

This has never been true of Israel, and it is not true today.  This is obviously future even to us.  I’ve been suggesting that it is only possible after the antichrist guarantees Israel’s peace in the region.

Just imagine, for a moment, the elation if a genuine, albeit tentative, peace could be achieved in the Middle East.  Especially if guaranteed by a military defense agreement by a powerful force in the region.

The antichrist will be the head of a revived Roman Empire.  It’s more than just Europe or the European Union.  Much more.

Ezekiel 38:12  to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.

They come to “take plunder” and to “take booty.”  Sounds like the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie!

Ezekiel 38:13  Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ‘

Who are “Sheba” and “Dedan”?  They are located in the modern country of Saudi Arabia.  Randall Price locates Sheba as modern Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula and Dedan as Saudi Arabia.

Regardless of their precise location on the Arabian peninsula, there appears to be no doubt that it is a reference to Saudi Arabia and perhaps some of the other Arab nations currently occupying that peninsula.

“Tarshish is ancient Tartessus in the present-day nation of Spain.  There does appear to be a significant historical basis to support the notion that the merchants of Tarshish are connected with the seafaring Phoenicians of 3,000 years ago.

Mark Hitchcock concludes,

Tarshish, or modern Spain, could be used by Ezekiel to represent all of the western nations which Saudi Arabia will join with in denouncing this invasion… It is highly probable that Ezekiel used the far western colony of Tarshish to represent the end-time empire of the Antichrist.

Is Tarshish the United States?  The merchants of Tarshish, during the last 500 years, developed into the modern mercantile nations of Western Europe like Spain, Holland, and Britain.  It’s a stretch of enormous proportions to further identify Tarshish with the United States.  And if we are included, we’re sure not a dominant nation anymore by the time of this invasion.

Is Israel really all that wealthy?  Remember, this is looking to the future.  But even now we’d have to say that Israel is very well-off.

Thomas Ice1 writes,

There is no doubt that Israel is by far the richest country in the region. Today she has developed a productive economy via research and development in the area of technology.  Also, she is perhaps the most productive country per capita in the world agriculturally.  Israel has long controlled the diamond business and is the world leader in generic pharmaceuticals.

Wikipedia says

Israel is considered one of the most advanced countries in the Southwest Asia in economic and industrial development… It has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world (after the United States) and the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies outside North America.

While we believe this invasion will occur after we, the church, have been removed from the earth, it’s fascinating to see it all setting up.

More than that, it’s energizing!  While the rapture could occur at any moment, it’s clear we’re closer to it with every passing moment.

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, “God is on the move!”