Eze 40:1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me thither.

Here is a long vision, beginning at chapter 40, and continuing to the end of the book, chapter 48. The book of Ezekiel closes with a vision of the temple and its associated rituals. In this chapter, Ezekiel  40, the prophet is transported in vision from his home among the exiles in Babylon to Israel, where a divine messenger holding a measuring rod appears to him. The messenger gives Ezekiel a tour of the temple, measuring the various walls, gates, and courts. 

I don’t think anyone today is interested in all those measurements. Why, then, does Ezekiel call attention to the man with the measuring-reed? And why does he give the exact details of the plan of the city and temple? We must not forget that Ezekiel was a prophet, not an architect. Why, then, does he fill his pages with these architectural details? The only explanation is Ezekiel’s temple is the glorified state of the future abode of the saints. 

While the “evangelical” preachers look for a physical kingdom on this earth and the revival of the Leviticus scarifies and priesthood, God has no interest in such things. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.                                 

(1) The very idea of a physical temple is repugnant to Christianity. "God dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 7:48). There will not even be a Temple in heaven itself. 

(2) The Old Testament worship of animal sacrifices and other material sacrifices for sins are a total contradiction of the Holy Truth that, "The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sins" (1 John 1:7). "It is impossible that `the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin" (Hebrews 10:4). Christ says true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). 

(3) The priesthood of Aaron is inferior to the priesthood of Christ (Hebrews 7:11-28). There is no reason to go back to something inferior. They forget that our Lord was from the tribe of Judah which disqualifies Him from being a high priest in the Leviticus system. 

(4) The spirit said to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 43:7: “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.” Clearly, the vision of Ezekiel is in heaven. 

(5) The idea that worship resumes in Jerusalem contradicts our Lord’s words to a Samaritan woman: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father” (John 4:21). 

The material measurements recorded in Ezekiel 40-48 are symbolical of the spiritual. God says: “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” (Isaiah 66:1). 

Note: God’s throne is in heaven. Earthly men look for the things on this earth. Let us set our sight on things eternal that are stored in the heavenly places: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.