Ezekiel 43: The Glory of God Returns to the Temple Forever!

In yesterday’s post, Ezekiel watched as God gave him a tour of the final temple. At last God’s Glory will return! Remember, The Glory of God hung out on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies — first in the mobile tabernacle, then in Solomon’s temple. We don’t know where the Ark ended up. That’s still a mystery. What will worship in the final temple be like? Let’s dig in and find out…

Ezekiel 43 – The Lord’s Glory Returns

After this, the man brought me back around to the east gateway. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape shone with his glory. This vision was just like the others I had seen, first by the Kebar River and then when he came to destroy Jerusalem. I fell face down on the ground. And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gateway.

Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple. And I heard someone speaking to me from within the Temple, while the man who had been measuring stood beside me. The Lord said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will live here forever among the people of Israel. They and their kings will not defile my holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by honoring the relics of their kings who have died. They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger. Now let them stop worshiping other gods and honoring the relics of their kings, and I will live among them forever.

10 “Son of man, describe to the people of Israel the Temple I have shown you, so they will be ashamed of all their sins. Let them study its plan, 11 and they will be ashamed of what they have done. Describe to them all the specifications of the Temple—including its entrances and exits—and everything else about it. Tell them about its decrees and laws. Write down all these specifications and decrees as they watch so they will be sure to remember and follow them. 12 And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness! The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple.

The Altar

The altar in the millennial temple. Image by Biblia Prints from FreeBibleImages.org (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
The altar in the millennial temple. Image by Biblia Prints from FreeBibleImages.org (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

13 “These are the measurements of the altar: There is a gutter all around the altar 21 inches deep and 21 inches wide, with a curb 9 inches wide around its edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 From the gutter the altar rises 3 1⁄2 feet to a lower ledge that surrounds the altar and is 21 inches wide. From the lower ledge the altar rises 7 feet to the upper ledge that is also 21 inches wide. 15 The top of the altar, the hearth, rises another 7 feet higher, with a horn rising up from each of the four corners. 16 The top of the altar is square, measuring 21 feet by 21 feet. 17 The upper ledge also forms a square, measuring 24 1⁄2 feet by 24 1⁄2 feet, with a 21-inch gutter and a 10 1⁄2-inch curb all around the edge. There are steps going up the east side of the altar.”

18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for the burning of offerings and the sprinkling of blood when the altar is built. 19 At that time, the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who minister before me, are to be given a young bull for a sin offering, says the Sovereign Lord. 20 You will take some of its blood and smear it on the four horns of the altar, the four corners of the upper ledge, and the curb that runs around that ledge. This will cleanse and make atonement for the altar. 21 Then take the young bull for the sin offering and burn it at the appointed place outside the Temple area.

22 “On the second day, sacrifice as a sin offering a young male goat that has no physical defects. Then cleanse and make atonement for the altar again, just as you did with the young bull. 23 When you have finished the cleansing ceremony, offer another young bull that has no defects and a perfect ram from the flock. 24 You are to present them to the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and offer them as a burnt offering to the Lord.

25 “Every day for seven days a male goat, a young bull, and a ram from the flock will be sacrificed as a sin offering. None of these animals may have physical defects of any kind. 26 Do this each day for seven days to cleanse and make atonement for the altar, thus setting it apart for holy use. 27 On the eighth day, and on each day afterward, the priests will sacrifice on the altar the burnt offerings and peace offerings of the people. Then I will accept you. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

Ezekiel 43 NLT

Key Points

  • Ezekiel sees a reversal of chapter 1 and chapter 10 where he watched God’s Glory leave Solomon’s beautiful temple in Jerusalem. Right after, Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians and the temple was plundered and burned.
  • He heard God coming like the roar of might waters. Just like what John described in the Book of Revelation 1:15… “His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.”
  • It’s interesting that back in chapter 40, Ezekiel described his tour guide as, “…a man whose face shone like bronze…” Could that have been a pre-incarnate Jesus?
  • This final temple is built to perfect proportions so the people would be ashamed of their past actions. (God hates Idolatry!)
  • In the Millennial Kingdom, there will not be any mosque or Catholic church in all of Israel. All idolatry will be GONE!
  • God plans EVERYTHING to the littlest detail. He does pull the strings of history.
  • We’ll see when we get to the Book of Zechariah, that the Millennial Temple is the last temple.
  • Note that there is no silver or gold in this temple. Solomon’s was very opulent. There will be nothing to distract Millennial worshipers from King Jesus, who is sitting on His Throne.
  • Now, the question is, why would they need to keep sacrificing since Jesus was our ultimate sacrificial lamb? Pastor Sandy Adams comments…

In Solomon’s Temple hewn (or hand-carved) altars – and steps – were prohibited. God didn’t want worshipers distracted by a building’s art or a priest’s skill. Worship wasn’t about human ingenuity.

It’s sad, but throughout history the Church has been guilty of both – elevating preachers and building ornate, artistic buildings. And both have robbed God of His glory. Yet, in Ezekiel’s Temple we find both hewn altars and elevated altars. Evidently the presence of Jesus in His Temple will be so overwhelming, there will be little chance of anyone being distracted by a priest or a work of art.

Also, notice there’s no veil in Ezekiel’s Temple because there’s no separation between God and man. On the cross, Jesus saw to it that we were fully reconciled. There’s also no menorah since in the Kingdom Age, Jesus is the light of the world… There’s also no sacred bread, for Jesus is the bread of life…

And there’s no Ark of the Covenant, and Jeremiah 3:16 tells us why… “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. At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to is, to the name of the LORD…” (NKJV) This is an unprecedented development. Throughout Hebrew history the Ark was the symbol of God’s presence. It was the ultimate keepsake of Judaism.

But when Jesus resides in the Temple, the symbol is no longer needed. The substance will overwhelm the symbol. The Ark of the Covenant will be a forgotten relic. Not even Indiana Jones will care to track it down.

And there’s one more characteristic of this future Temple that’s so strange… why the animal sacrifices? In the NT the book of Hebrews, it is clear that Jesus’ sacrifice [on the cross] made animal sacrifices obsolete. Since the blood of Jesus cleanses us fully, there’s no longer a need for the blood of bulls and lambs… or is there? Perhaps so! I believe sacrifices are offered in the Millennial Temple NOT as atonement for our sin, but as a memorial to Jesus. The OT sacrifices were all symbolic of Christ, and spoke of His work on the cross. Perhaps these sacrifices do the same, but in arrears.

Just as communion and baptism remind us of Jesus. These sacrifices may also remind the believers in the Kingdom Age of what our Lord Jesus did for them. The Temple sacrifices lasted 1000 years – from the first Temple to the Roman demolition of the second temple. For a millennium the Jews saw the sacrifices, but never grasped their real significance. It’s ironic, that they may get a future thousand years to make up for the lost opportunity. They will see Jesus in the sacrifices.

Sandy Adams

Now in the videos that I just embedded in a blog post going through the Book or Revelation, they mentioned that during the Millennial Kingdom, there will be children born who will have to make the choice to follow Jesus or not. Satan will be released after the 1000 years and these people will have to make the choice. The choice you should make now!

This World is NOT all there is!

Thank God! My citizenship is in Heaven! Jesus is coming back very soon! Look around! Watch the news! In fact, check out these article that confirm that we are living in the END TIMES AND LAST DAYS!

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…

Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.

  • Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
  • Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
  • Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
  • Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.

Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…

Passion — Even So Come


Sing Wherever I Go


Top image by Biblia Prints from FreeBibleImages.org (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)


Soli Deo Gloria! To God Alone Be the Glory!

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