The subject of the final chapters of Ezekiel’s prophecies is the “Kingdom Age” or the “Millennium” — the thousand years when Satan will be bound and we, born-again believers will rule with King Jesus here on earth. In these next 3 chapters, God describes in great detail the 4th Temple. Let’s dig in…
A History of Hebrew Worship
First, here’s a recap of the places of worship since the Israelites were brought out of Egypt…
- While the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they had the tabernacle or Tent of Meeting, which was mobile. Once they reached the Promised Land, the tabernacle was located at Shiloh.
- Once David was king, he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, yet it was housed in a tent. He wanted to build a beautiful temple, but God told him that he would not build it. His son would.
- Enter Solomon who built an opulent temple. This temple was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC.
- As we’ll see when we get to the Book of Nehemiah, the temple was rebuilt, but it was a shack compared to Solomon’s. The Babylonians had stolen all the temple treasures and the opulent decorations.
- In the first century, King Herod, wanting to look good for the Jews, enlarged the temple and made it better. This is where Jesus preached and the one that He said that no stone would be left on top of each other. That prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the 2nd temple.
- Currently, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, has plans to build the 3rd temple. This is the one that the Antichrist will desecrate. Check out the videos at the bottom which explain about the temples.
- The 4th temple, is the Millennial Temple that Ezekiel describes in these next 3 chapters. They will give you an idea of the size and scope of the temple from where King Jesus will rule and be High Priest. If you like architecture and design, you’ll get a kick out of this.
Ezekiel 40 – The New Temple Area
On April 28, during the twenty-fifth year of our captivity—fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem—the Lord took hold of me. 2 In a vision from God he took me to the land of Israel and set me down on a very high mountain. From there I could see toward the south what appeared to be a city. 3 As he brought me nearer, I saw a man whose face shone like bronze standing beside a gateway entrance. He was holding in his hand a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod.
4 He said to me, “Son of man, watch and listen. Pay close attention to everything I show you. You have been brought here so I can show you many things. Then you will return to the people of Israel and tell them everything you have seen.”
Ezekiel 40:1-4 NLT
Continue reading on your own. He goes on to describe the…
- East Gateway
- Outer Courtyard
- North and South Gateways
- Gateways to the Inner Courtyard
- Rooms for preparing sacrifices
- Rooms for the Priests
- Inner courtyard and temple
Ezekiel 41
After that, the man brought me into the sanctuary of the Temple. He measured the walls on either side of its doorway, and they were 10 1⁄2 feet thick. 2 The doorway was 17 1⁄2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of it were 8 3⁄4 feet long. The sanctuary itself was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide.
3 Then he went beyond the sanctuary into the inner room. He measured the walls on either side of its entrance, and they were 3 1⁄2 feet thick. The entrance was 10 1⁄2 feet wide, and the walls on each side of the entrance were 12 1⁄4 feet long. 4 The inner room of the sanctuary was 35 feet long and 35 feet wide. “This,” he told me, “is the Most Holy Place.”
5 Then he measured the wall of the Temple, and it was 10 1⁄2 feet thick. There was a row of rooms along the outside wall; each room was 7 feet wide. 6 These side rooms were built in three levels, one above the other, with thirty rooms on each level. The supports for these side rooms rested on exterior ledges on the Temple wall; they did not extend into the wall. 7 Each level was wider than the one below it, corresponding to the narrowing of the Temple wall as it rose higher. A stairway led up from the bottom level through the middle level to the top level.
8 I saw that the Temple was built on a terrace, which provided a foundation for the side rooms. This terrace was 10 1⁄2 feet high. 9 The outer wall of the Temple’s side rooms was 8 3⁄4 feet thick. This left an open area between these side rooms 10 and the row of rooms along the outer wall of the inner courtyard. This open area was 35 feet wide, and it went all the way around the Temple. 11 Two doors opened from the side rooms into the terrace yard, which was 8 3⁄4 feet wide. One door faced north and the other south.
12 A large building stood on the west, facing the Temple courtyard. It was 122 1⁄2 feet wide and 157 1⁄2 feet long, and its walls were 8 3⁄4 feet thick. 13 Then the man measured the Temple, and it was 175 feet long. The courtyard around the building, including its walls, was an additional 175 feet in length. 14 The inner courtyard to the east of the Temple was also 175 feet wide. 15 The building to the west, including its two walls, was also 175 feet wide.
The sanctuary, the inner room, and the entry room of the Temple 16 were all paneled with wood, as were the frames of the recessed windows. The inner walls of the Temple were paneled with wood above and below the windows. 17 The space above the door leading into the inner room, and its walls inside and out, were also paneled. 18 All the walls were decorated with carvings of cherubim, each with two faces, and there was a carving of a palm tree between each of the cherubim. 19 One face—that of a man—looked toward the palm tree on one side. The other face—that of a young lion—looked toward the palm tree on the other side. The figures were carved all along the inside of the Temple, 20 from the floor to the top of the walls, including the outer wall of the sanctuary.
21 There were square columns at the entrance to the sanctuary, and the ones at the entrance of the Most Holy Place were similar. 22 There was an altar made of wood, 5 1⁄4 feet high and 3 1⁄2 feet across. Its corners, base, and sides were all made of wood. “This,” the man told me, “is the table that stands in the Lord’s presence.”
23 Both the sanctuary and the Most Holy Place had double doorways, 24 each with two swinging doors. 25 The doors leading into the sanctuary were decorated with carved cherubim and palm trees, just as on the walls. And there was a wooden roof at the front of the entry room to the Temple. 26 On both sides of the entry room were recessed windows decorated with carved palm trees. The side rooms along the outside wall also had roofs.
Ezekiel 41 NLT
Ezekiel 42 – Rooms for the Priests
Then the man led me out of the Temple courtyard by way of the north gateway. We entered the outer courtyard and came to a group of rooms against the north wall of the inner courtyard. 2 This structure, whose entrance opened toward the north, was 175 feet long and 87 1⁄2 feet wide. 3 One block of rooms overlooked the 35-foot width of the inner courtyard. Another block of rooms looked out onto the pavement of the outer courtyard. The two blocks were built three levels high and stood across from each other. 4 Between the two blocks of rooms ran a walkway 17 1⁄2 feet wide. It extended the entire 175 feet of the complex, and all the doors faced north. 5 Each of the two upper levels of rooms was narrower than the one beneath it because the upper levels had to allow space for walkways in front of them. 6 Since there were three levels and they did not have supporting columns as in the courtyards, each of the upper levels was set back from the level beneath it. 7 There was an outer wall that separated the rooms from the outer courtyard; it was 87 1⁄2 feet long. 8 This wall added length to the outer block of rooms, which extended for only 87 1⁄2 feet, while the inner block—the rooms toward the Temple—extended for 175 feet. 9 There was an eastern entrance from the outer courtyard to these rooms.
10 On the south side of the Temple there were two blocks of rooms just south of the inner courtyard between the Temple and the outer courtyard. These rooms were arranged just like the rooms on the north. 11 There was a walkway between the two blocks of rooms just like the complex on the north side of the Temple. This complex of rooms was the same length and width as the other one, and it had the same entrances and doors. The dimensions of each were identical. 12 So there was an entrance in the wall facing the doors of the inner block of rooms, and another on the east at the end of the interior walkway.
13 Then the man told me, “These rooms that overlook the Temple from the north and south are holy. Here the priests who offer sacrifices to the Lord will eat the most holy offerings. And because these rooms are holy, they will be used to store the sacred offerings—the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. 14 When the priests leave the sanctuary, they must not go directly to the outer courtyard. They must first take off the clothes they wore while ministering, because these clothes are holy. They must put on other clothes before entering the parts of the building complex open to the public.”
15 When the man had finished measuring the inside of the Temple area, he led me out through the east gateway to measure the entire perimeter. 16 He measured the east side with his measuring rod, and it was 875 feet long. 17 Then he measured the north side, and it was also 875 feet. 18 The south side was also 875 feet, 19 and the west side was also 875 feet. 20 So the area was 875 feet on each side with a wall all around it to separate what was holy from what was common.
Ezekiel 42 NLT
For renderings of what this may look like, check out Free Bible Images…
Key Points
- God gave Ezekiel this vision 14 years after the destruction of Solomon’s temple. He’d been in exile for 25 years.
- Notice that there’s an increase in holiness as one goes deeper inside.
- It had very thick walls and large areas to separate what was holy from what was common or profane.
- It was similar to Solomon’s temple but simple in decoration.
- This was holiness embodied in a structure.
An interesting question for the people who have the 3rd temple designed and ready to be built in Jerusalem, would be which design did they use? David’s or Ezekiel’s?
For Born-Again Christians Our Bodies are a Temple/Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit
Through Christ, we true believers have unrestricted access to worship God whenever and wherever we want.
The Final Temple
In the New Heaven and New Earth we won’t need a church or a temple! John wrote…
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 21:22 NLT
Is YOUR name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
The Temple Institute: The 3rd Holy Temple
Amir Tsarfati: The Next Temple
Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!
Top image by Biblia Prints from FreeBibleImages.org (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
