Okay, seriously, I've had about three cups of coffee today to keep my brain going in order to get into this. It's Saturday here and of course my kids are home and one has a friend over so thinking deeply or waxing eloquent with Mario (it's 103 outside!) in the background is not easy. Bear with me.
I've been dragging myself through the last three days of reading. As the temple descriptions were being read I thought "oh, no not again, more blue print reading", I am not detail oriented. Then, I realized I was confused. What temple was this? When did it happen? Is it figurative or literal language? So, I decided I may not be the only one who was getting a little lost and thinking I was just taking a dive back into previous such passages about lineage and floor plans.
I admit it...I'm the bad Christian who has never read Ezekiel! So, yes, I was getting lost. As I dove in to start answering my own questions I was flabbergasted at the different speculation out there. I'm still not sure what I think. I'd like to hear what you guys think. I did realize that that which I thought was boring is actually the tip of a fascinating biblical iceberg that I'd like to come back to and explore. I think this book is one of those that you have to take some time in. I'm reading the bible in a year chronologically because I've never done it this way before but the hard thing is that you don't have time to follow those rabbit trials of depth. Maybe you can come back to this blog and use it as a reference some day.
For general reference for all things Ezekiel start here.
- Ezekiel's Temple Does Not Yet Exist- It is believed to be the temple of the Millennium when Christ will rule the earth for 1000 years. Simple archeology and human history has no record of such a structure ever existing. Still, I think the most compelling evidence of this being true is when God says he will come down and stay forever with his people.
- Land Changes- Even the topography will have to change for the temple description to fall into place. There is a river coming from the temple that is not even there yet. Zechariah 14 (which will parallel these passages) describes some intense changes to the structure of Jerusalem due to earthquakes at the coming of Christ.
- Reinstated Sacrifices- This was the part I was the most confused about. Just as the deminsions and details of temple design seem too important to be played with or stretched and skewed into all kinds of allegorical interpretations, so the specific plan for sacrifices must have literal validity. This is a hard one for all of us. Didn't Jesus say "It is Finished!"? That was my thought. So I began to search. This was interesting:
One may well ask, if Ezekiel's temple is indeed literal, future, and millennial in nature, what purpose the temple sacrifices (44:15) serve. Since Christ has already provided a once-for-all atoning sacrifice for sin (Heb. 7:27, 9:12,26-27), is it not blasphemy to suggest that in His earthly kingdom any blood sacrifices would be necessary? Does the presence of sacrifices therefore not point so a symbolic or historical interpretation of the passage? The answer to both questions is no. There is no reason to believe that a future sacrificial system could not be perfectly within the will of God for His people. Firstly, the emphasis in Ezekiel's temple is on holiness. By faithfully following the Lord's commandments regarding worship and sacrifice, the nation of Israel will demonstrate to the world the transforming power of God in their once-stubborn and idolatrous hearts, and their unique relationship to Him. Secondly, the sacrifices offered are symbolic, not efficacious. This was also true even of the Mosaic sacrifices (Heb. 9:9, 10:1-4) -- the only difference here is that the millennium looks back at Christ's death as a historical reality, whereas the Israelites of the Old Testament economy looked forward to a Messianic promise of cleansing and atonement in the shadowy future.
If at first the suggestion that the blood sacrifices in Ezekiel's temple serve a purely commemorative purpose seems bizarre, one may well consider the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. At this present time the church, composed of Jew and Gentile united in Christ, is in focus. Though the reality -- the suffering and death of Christ -- has already taken place, the church today still partakes of bread and wine in remembrance of His past work (1 Cor. 11:23-26). This institution was set up by the Lord Jesus Himself. However, in the millennial kingdom restored Israel, not the church, is the focus. In keeping with the Mosaic covenant unique to Israel, animal sacrifices will remind the believing Jews of Christ's finished work. Note, however, that in the millennium there is no Day of Atonement, and numerous other distinctions serve to remind us that Christ's death forever altered God's dealings with mankind. Also, Ezekiel's temple and its unique sacrificial system come into play after Israel has recognized Jesus as the Messiah they pierced (Zech. 12:9). There can be no danger that these Jews will forget His death on their behalf.
In light of these evidences, then, there seems no reason to believe that Ezekiel's temple is any less than it seems to be from the text itself -- a literal building constructed by a truly repentant and restored nation of Israel, and in which they will worship the Lord by offering and sacrifice.
I thought this whole article above (short as it was) was good but I wanted to find someone who's study of the word I trusted. I searched out some men of faith today for their thoughts. I found some help from John MacArthur. He is one of my favorites, and no, not because I went to his school or because my husband graduated from there, or because we've talked to him and he's a nice guy, but because he is theologically sound. I may not agree with everything from him (and really, it's good to disagree and search out points from well known bible teachers as the Bereans did) but the man has studied the word and his hermeneutics are sharp.
This is his answer to this odd occurrence:
“How does the Lord’s table relate to the fact that Christ’s sacrifice is a once for all sacrifice? The Old Testament sacrifices were not a substitute for Christ, they were a depiction, they were a picture, they were a picture, a type, prior to the cross, pointing to the cross. The Lord’s table is a picture of the cross, past the Cross, pointing back, and the best understanding that I have of the millennial temple in Ezekiel 40 to 48 and the millennial sacrifices is that in the kingdom, which is for Israel in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant and Davidic covenant and new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36 and 37, Israel is featured. The apostles, Jesus said from His own lips, will sit on 12 thrones ruling the 12 tribes of Israel. And so it is uniquely Jewish and it is uniquely for them and I think the Lord will reinstitute the Old Testament symbols that pointed to the cross and they will carry out some of those symbols which will then be infused with a full understanding of what they meant in the light of the cross, and they will by then have come to look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as an only son, have had the fountain of cleansing opened to them, they will be in the kingdom, Christ will be present and it will all become clear to them. It will be a complete unveiling of all of those sacrifices which were so richly symbolic to Israel in the past.”
It really stretches my biblical horizon to learn these new things. I've gone from bored to intrigued about these passages and I'm starting to wonder if there is so much more to understanding Revelation than just the book itself. I've known there were prophetic references in Daniel and other places, but I did not realize these other puzzle pieces were scattered about. Sadly, there is little commentary on Ezekiel. One man seemed passioned about the book however and he has written a mini-commentary. This article told about the book and why he wrote about it and contained some interesting tid-bit's along the way.
Bottom line, I don't understand it yet. I look forward to learning more. Instead of intimidated or bewildered I'm amazed once again that there is always more to learn about God and his plan. It reminds me of what I'll be doing for an eternity and I'm joyful at the prospect.
Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 47-48:35; Ezekiel 29:17-30:19; 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34
2 comments:
Last year about this time was my first time reading through Ezekiel. It was also the first time I ever journalled my Bible reading, and I felt exactly the way you did ~ confused, yet intrigued by these seemingly endless and monotonous blueprint details. I came across much of the same information you've presented here. It really is amazing how little of God's Word we truly grasp. I have never been more thankful for the Internet than when I'm flitting from site to site, learning what others have to say on passages I just don't understand!
Completely agree with both of you. I remember reading these passages last year and I didn't get it, but I didn't bother to study it either. THIS year, the extra studying and looking into things has just made everthing more intriguing.
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