The proposed new temple

Previous "Queries" are available. Click here to access.

Some perpetual questions ....

Is there really an immortal soul?

Do you know the difference between the "love" that is of Christianity
and the "love" that is of the world? Click here to find out!
 

Click on the link for a good book on the character of our God which you can download for free and share amongst your friends.   It's called "Light on the Dark Side of God" and is one of the best books on this subject that I have ever read!

Some of the comments on this page are adapted from books in my library.  No recognition is given because they are not intended as authorities, but are used because they express my understanding clearly.

Query:               

Ezekiel 40:

1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the [first] month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten [586-14=572BC], in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me there. 2 In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame [ruins] of a city on the south. 3 And He brought me there, and, behold, there was a man [an angel looking like a man], whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate [of the ruined temple].

4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, behold with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you; for to the intent that I might show them to you are you brought hither: declare all that you see to the house of Israel”.

 Ezekiel was going to be shown the layout of a NEW temple?  Why?

Answer:

The portable tabernacle that Moses built in the wilderness had been replaced after about 500 years by a permanent stone structure erected by Solomon’s men.  This had lasted for almost another 500 years until destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his army in their third attack on Jerusalem, in 586BC. 

Ezekiel and his companions had been taken prisoner eleven years before that, and now, after a total of twenty-five years of captivity, he was being given a vision of a temple that the Son of God wanted as a replacement when the exiles finally returned. 

Why?

Because the temple/tabernacle and its services had been physical pictures of Himself and His work on behalf of His people (i.e. Christians). 

The Son of God had allowed the people of the exodus to have their desire for such a building after they had already set aside a tent for Him soon after leaving Egypt.  But their temporary (and unauthorised) one had to be removed and placed outside the camp grounds after their rebellion at the golden calf altar, to show that this was not the way to go. 

***************(Begin Quote)

Exodus 33:7

And Moses took the tabernacle [tent], and pitched it without [outside] the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the “Tabernacle of the Congregation” [The Peoples’ Tent].  And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out to the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which was without [outside] the camp.

***************(End Quote)

But they persisted in their desire and so . . .

When they came to Mount Sinai some weeks later He said to Moses, “ . . . Let [allow] them [to] make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”, and gave them the blueprint of it and its services so that it would reflect His glory and His plan for them.  Exodus 25:8.  He also said in the next verse, “According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall you make it [don’t deviate]”.  

He hadn’t wanted such a system, certainly not one which concentrated on killing animals who are also His loved creatures, but He is often reduced to a lesser plan because of our stubbornness and desire to have our way.  What did He want?  The answer is in the next verses. 

***************(Begin Quote)

Psalm 40:

5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done, and Your thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order to You: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears have You opened: burnt offering and sin offering have You not required.

7 Then said “I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, 

8 I delight to do Your will, O my God: yea, Your law is within my heart”.

***************(End Quote)

But, having once started on that road, He continued educating them and blessed the people with many grand truths regarding sanctification.  Later, when Solomon wanted to greatly enlarge the building and add to its services, He went along with that too! 

But the waywardness of the Hebrews at last became too much and He could no longer protect that temple.

***************(Begin Quote)

2 Kings 25:

8 And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem: 9 and he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house burnt he with fire. 10 And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about.

***************(End Quote)

But what was He really asking for!

***************(Begin Quote)

Deuteronomy 10:

12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?

Micah 6:

6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God?  Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

 [The answer is]  8 He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy [sometimes called “righteousness”], and to walk humbly with your God?

***************(End Quote)

So the two principles went on side by side in Biblical history.  The Son of God wanting one thing and the majority of His people wanting another, which is why we can read about both of them in the one book.  However, only a very few ever really saw what the situation was.  

But in Ezekiel’s time, even after so many years of exile and the total destruction of Solomon’s temple, His people still clung to the old ways, so He was showing Ezekiel a NEW structure, one which would open up His desire even more fully. He intended that His people would be released from their Babylonian captivity when the Medes and Persians took over the kingdom (in about twenty-five years from Ezekiel’s vision), and that the Jews would learn from the new complex.

But, as history records, they ignored His advice and rebuilt an inferior copy of the old temple, which He had not been able to protect.

***************(Begin Quote)

Ezra 3:

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel [and Solomon his son]. 11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks to the LORD; because He is good, for His mercy endures for ever toward Israel. 

And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

***************(End Quote)

What did the LORD want to teach by the new building?

The tabernacle in the wilderness had one courtyard and one entrance.

***************(Begin Quote)

Exodus 27:

9 And you shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of a hundred cubits long [about 150ft or 50m] for one side . . . 11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits [about 75ft or 25m]: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits . . . 16  And for the gate of the court shall be a hanging of twenty cubits [about 30ft or 10m], of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four . . . 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits [about 7½ ft or 2.5m] of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

***************(End Quote)

This courtyard was for the priests and the offerers, male and female, and the white linen fence was to make a distinction between them and the rest of the world.  The tabernacle had one laver [water tank] in the courtyard for the priests to wash their hands and feet before entering the building, and one lampstand (aka candlestick), and one table on which were laid twelve loaves, to represent the One who was the Light and the Bread of life of the world.

However, Solomon’s temple had first a court for Gentiles (non-Jews), then another for Hebrew women, and a third for Hebrew men (a separation they had learned from the Babylonians), plus the one for the altar.  

There were other additions as well:

***************(Begin Quote)

2 Chronicles 4:

6 He [Solomon] made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea [a separate much larger tank] was for the priests to wash in. 7 And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.

8 He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left.  And he made a hundred basins of gold.

9 Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass.

***************(End Quote)

There were many other apparently minor changes that he made, ones which the LORD could live with, but every one of them, major or minor, clouded the full picture of the Son of God and His work.  So, when the Jews rebuilt along Solomon’s pattern, it was great disappointment to Him.  Not until He came into the world in human flesh could the record be set straight, so that when the temple was destroyed again (this time by the Romans in 70AD) there would be no need to have another one.  Christ Himself taught in the temple of His day and tried to change the mindset of those who had been called to safeguard His word.  Thus it is written, “What advantage then has the Jew?  Or what profit is there of circumcision [being religiously identified]?  Much every way: [but] chiefly, because that to them were committed the oracles [words] of God. For what if some did not believe?  Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, ‘That You might be justified in Your sayings, and might overcome [be acquitted] when You are judged’.”  Romans 3:1-4.

So what are the major lessons we can learn from the proposed NEW temple?

First of all, it had two courtyards, each with three entrances.  The outer court was meant for all those who are protected by the UNIVERSAL GRACE offered to mankind at the gates of the Garden of Eden, when God said to Satan’s agent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed . . .”  Genesis 3:15.  This naturally covers all mankind.  It helps to stave off the result of sin, which is death, and keeps us alive while we consider His offer.  Romans 6:23.

The three entrances, east, north and south, show that many will come from all over the earth to be with God, so they were illustrating the changeover to a universal church which men call Christianity.  Sadly, the outer gates also allow for those who choose to leave God’s protection to join Satan and his angels in open rebellion. 

The inner wall represents that gift of righteousness given to those who also accept LIVING GRACE, and therefore covers both males and females. 

THERE IS NO CEREMONY OR RITUAL IN THE TEMPLE SERVICES WHICH ILLUSTRATES SAVING GRACE! 

That is because salvation is offered, and accepted, in the home, and comes in the form of a family feast.  “Purge out [remove] therefore the old leaven [of sin], that you may be a new lump, as you are [now] unleavened.  For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven [the old life], neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth”.  1 Corinthians 5:7-8.  See also Exodus 12:1-47 for He is “the Lamb which takes away the sin of the world”.  John 1:29.

However, BEFORE partaking of that feast, all its male participants must be circumcised to show that the “old life” has been removed by the Head of the family, before the infilling with the lamb.  Exodus 12:48-49.  So it is written; “But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the “old man” with his deeds; and have put on the “new man”, which is renewed in knowledge after the image [likeness] of Him that created him: where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision [being in the church] nor uncircumcision [being out of the church], Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all”.   Colossians 3:8-11.  And in another place, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise”.  Galatians 3:28-29.

Only male descendants needed this ritual , for Adam was the major player in the rebellion in that he chose to separate from the God of life knowingly, while Eve was deceived.  1 Timothy 2:14. 

Thus, very simply, with the two courts the LORD showed that He has loyal followers in (and out) of every religious system in the world!  Because of the “old” temple design, this understanding only became clear to Christ’s disciples after the day of Pentecost. “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, ‘Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that fears [respects] Him, and works righteousness [in His strength], is accepted with Him’.” Acts 10:34-35.

There were many other illuminations in that new temple plan, which if it had been accepted, would have helped to usher in the understanding that Christ gave to His disciples before and after His resurrection.  But there is no need to go into them here, for they are now the foundation truths of Christianity.

That’s why it is written:

***************(Begin Quote)

Hebrews 6:

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ [the six basic truths], let us go on to perfection [maturity of character]; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works [handing over the old life], and of faith toward God [accepting power for the new life], 2 of the doctrine of baptisms [(1) by water for witness, (2) through the Spirit for power, and (3) by fire, i.e. persecution for the truth], and of laying on of hands [accepting the responsibility of birthright], and of resurrection of the dead [at the second coming], and of eternal judgment [the Judgment Day].

3 And this [“going on to perfection”] will we do, if God permit.

***************(End Quote)

There is another aspect of the temple plan which we have not covered here, but that also must be for another day. “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are”.   1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

Conclusion:

The earthly temple and its services were used as an illustration of what God would like to do for us.  It was intended to hold the eye while the heart and mind worked them out.  The Son of God wanted to teach more of His principles and intentions and therefore gave the measurements and design of a new temple to Ezekiel for the exiles to build when they returned to Jerusalem.