Ezekiel Bible Study: March 26, 2025

So tonight, we'll be looking at the Millennial Temple. As I was preparing this, boy, this is a really detailed section of Scripture here, the next eight chapters that we have. Almost too much detail to go through for us to just kind of wade through. But we're going to approach it in a different way. I have a number of illustrations and drawings of the temple that I think help us through to see and visualize what God has done here. There are a number of good drawings online. We have some in our UCG Bible commentary as well. But before we get into that, I wanted to go back to Ezekiel 37 and just make it clear, because there was a question at the end of the Bible study last week about the Valley of the Dry Bones. And the question was, or I guess the point was made, that when we look at that resurrection to physical life and the Valley of the Dry Bones, that is the second resurrection. The first resurrection is a resurrection to eternal life. As for the first fruits that God is calling now, that is the better resurrection that we talked about. But the second resurrection is for all of mankind who God didn't call and who weren't in the number of that first fruits that God raises in the first resurrection to eternal life. So the second resurrection in Ezekiel 37, while it may have some other symbolism that we can talk about, the Valley of the Dry Bones to the bones connecting bone to bone, that's a resurrection to physical life. That's the second resurrection that we're talking about there as it talks about Israel. So I just wanted to make that clear so there was no confusion in that. So with that, let's look at Ezekiel 40. Last week we did begin Ezekiel 40 and look at the first four or five verses, but I think it's fitting that we go back and look at those verses again so as we get into the detail, we can kind of appreciate what Ezekiel is seeing and remind ourselves of what God is showing him.

Ezekiel does a magnificent job, of course, under the inspiration of God, of recording so much detail about this millennial temple. The commentaries say there's more detail here in this millennial temple than there actually was for the Solomon's temple or the Tabernacle in the wilderness. It is so complete, and there may well be a reason for that.

Well, there is a reason for it. Everything God does, there's a reason for it. But let's look again at the first four verses here, and they get into some of the specifics of this temple. Tonight we're going to be in chapters 40, 41, 42, and a little bit in 43. We're not going to read every single verse because so many of them are repetitive as you go from the east gate to the north gate to the south gate to the west gate, and it repeats all the cubits and measurements and the size of all the rooms.

So if we do one of those, you know, God is a God of order, and you'll see in some of the pictures how everything is just perfectly symmetrical throughout the temple when you look at the drawings there. But we will get through some of those, and then next week we'll look at 44, 45, and 46 and pull in the details of that that define the service of the temple.

Today we'll be more in the structure of the temple and what the appearance of it is like. So in chapter 40 and in verse 1 it says, "...in the 25th year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, and the tenth day of the month, and the fourteenth year, after the city was captured, on the very same day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he took me there." You'll remember that we talked about that the beginning of the year or the tenth day of the month, that is the year in Old Testament times that they went out and they chose the Passover land that would be slaughtered on the evening of the 14th.

And so there's significance of that verse. We'll probably see that as we go through some of these verses, what God is doing there, specifically mentioning that day that he gave Ezekiel this vision. So in verse 2 it says, "...in the visions of God, he took me, me being Ezekiel, into the land of Israel, and set me on a very high mountain." So Israel was going to be the top of the nations, you know, in the millennium. They will be the model nation that God had always intended them to be.

They will loathe themselves and come to a complete repentance for the way they have dishonored and disrespected and disobeyed God over the years. And they will be a very loyal people to him in the millennium. So he'll take them up on this high mountain of Israel, and he's looking down over the mountain. He sees in verse 3 or at the end of verse 2, as he looked toward the south, there was something like the structure of a city.

And so he looks down, he sees this structure down there. It's bigger than a temple because the millennial temple is much bigger than Solomon's temple. When the people who understand all these cubits and look at the various measurements of all of that, they say that the temple area of this millennial temple is something like 25 acres. It covers that. So when Ezekiel is looking down from a high mountain, he sees this beautiful city that's there, city-like element, as he's looking down, and God is showing it to him.

In verse 3, then it says, he took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, a spirit being, an angel. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway. So here, Ezekiel is going to start recording all the measurements of this temple, and they are exact. I mean, he is detailed in every single aspect of the very many features of this temple.

God says to him in verse 4, or the man says to Ezekiel, Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. He's saying, listen up. Listen up, Ezekiel, and fix your mind on everything I show you, for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. So Ezekiel is told, pay close attention. Pay close attention to what you're going to see. And he says, declare to the house of Israel everything you see. And Ezekiel does that in very vivid detail in the following eight and nine chapters here.

He pays very close attention. I think last week I commented as, we need to fix our eyes on the vision that God gives us. We need to fix our eyes on the detail that God wants us to pay attention to as we allow him to build his temple inside us, every word of God, building it to that detail.

So Ezekiel, Ezekiel does that. He does that. And as we look at the detail of these, we can see he's doing exactly what God asked him to do. He is paying close attention. His mind is fixed on what he is seeing. He is writing it down, and he's recorded it for us so that the house of Israel can see everything that he saw. Some commentaries and some people suggest that Ezekiel—this isn't anywhere in the Bible, so I think it's speculation—Ezekiel, with all the visions that he saw.

And last week, you'll remember we went through the four visions that are in the book of Ezekiel. In the first chapter, he saw the throne room of God. In the eighth chapter, God took him behind the scenes in the temple to see all the abominations that were going on there. In chapter 37, of course, we had the valley of dry bones.

And now we have this future temple, this millennial temple, that God is showing him in clear vision what is going on. That Ezekiel, maybe he will be the one who is responsible under Christ for seeing that this temple is built. He has the detail. He has the vision up here. It's indelibly entered, embellished on his mind of what it is. So perhaps that's what he will do.

Just speculation. So beginning in verse 5, Bill, before I get into that, did you have a comment or question? Yeah, your mic's off, Bill. Okay, there we go. Sorry about that. Yeah, and the King James, it has for fix your mind, it has set thine heart. Set thine heart.

Another reference to putting something in our heart, in our inner being as to what this is and how it will work. Yeah, very good. This is another way of adding to the emphasis that he's making. Excellent, excellent. Yeah, writes it on our minds, writes it on our hearts. Very good.

So let's look at verse 5. As we begin at verse 5, I'm going to put up a picture here of the millennial complex so that you can kind of look at that and see what we're looking at, the overall drawing of it there. And as we look at verse 5, you can kind of, you can see in that picture, this looks completely different than Solomon's Temple. Like I said, it covers something like 25 acres, they say. It's perfectly square. The building, the high building there, the people who read these things and figure out what all these cubists mean and everything say, that center structure where the tabernacle, where the actual temple is, is 25 stories high.

And so as you have the gates, the east, the north, the west, the south gates, they're six stories high, if I remember correctly. And then outside of that temple, you have where all the priest chambers are. We'll get into that detail more, but we have a very modern, we have a very modern temple area here that we see that'll be the Llanilineal Temple. When you hear coming out of Jerusalem, their plans for the third temple that they're talking about building when they do sacrifice the red heifers and they have a priesthood that's purified and ready to serve in that temple, it looks nothing like this.

What their plans are, are very much looking like Solomon's Temple. But these, this is the, this is the model from Ezekiel's, from the words of the Bible here. Very impressive feature. You'll notice in verse five, we're going to say the very first thing, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. And in the man's hand, so you can kind of see that wall that's all the way, the wall that's all the way around that temple, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple.

And the man's hand was a measuring rod, six cubits long, each being a cubit in the hand breath, and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod and the height, one rod. Everything is exactly the same. Now, as you look at that, we'll get into more of the detail, you see how thick that outer wall is. The people who have looked at these cubits, some people say they're 18 inches, some say they're 27 inches. Only God knows exactly how long, how wide these cubits are. But those walls are 10 to 12 feet wide. And so around those walls, if you look at the the left side up there, you kind of see windows, you kind of see windows in there.

And there's actually 30 chambers that are there for people to live in. So those are chambers, they're the size of bedrooms, they say, regular bedrooms like we would have in houses that time. There are places for the priests, the Levites to live there, places for the singers to live there. The sacrifices are there. The little red thing that's right in front of that 25-story building where the temple is, that's the altar that's right there to the entrance of it.

But you have this very significant structure that is the temple of God. And as Ezekiel is looking down from that high mountain that he's looking on, this is what he sees in the future. You can see why he says it looks like a city.

This looks like a city. It's a very vibrant place with a lot of people moving around and a lot of activity going on. And so he goes, he says in verse 6, to the gateway which is faced east. Now this would be the one that's literally right in front of us. So you see the little green ramp that's there.

And he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. Now the eastern gate, you know, I think I had that wrong. I think it's the other one off to the, I think it's the one to the, I guess that's the right side of the angle there. That would be the eastern gate. The eastern gate is significant.

All the gates are significant. But let's look at chapter 44, because that gate, that gate's significant. And next week we're going to look at more about that eastern gate, because it is actually where Christ enters in the Shekinah, glory, or whatever they call it, the glory of God enters through that eastern gate.

In chapter 44, in verse 1, it references that gate. It says, then he, this is of course Ezekiel speaking, that he is God, that God brought Ezekiel back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the eternal said to me, this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it.

Therefore it shall be shut. So this is the gate through which Christ enters, and the glory of God enters, and that gate remains shut. Now if you remember, as we were talking last week about the temple in ancient Jerusalem in Ezekiel 8, when God brought Ezekiel through and showed him the abomination after abomination after abomination that was occurring in that temple behind closed doors, as they got to the eastern gate, you remember those 25 priests, those 25 priests that were looking out through the east gate, and they were basically having a sunrise service.

They were worshiping the sun. And so out of that gate, out of that gate of the old temple, that what was going on, and God called that an abomination, but in the new temple, in the new temple, the eastern gate is where God, where Christ and his glory is going to to enter. Now interestingly, and I was going to check this to make sure my memory is correct, and if it isn't, someone please, someone please raise your hand and correct me, in the, where the, where the Jews believe the eastern gate is today, the Muslims over there in Israel also believe that. So you will, you will see and hear that they litter that gate with all sorts of things for the purpose that, that to prevent Jesus Christ from entering that gate.

Very interesting what goes on in the world, and Islam, who is very opposed to Jesus Christ returning to earth, you know, at that eastern gate, all sorts of rubbish there, I think even dead they bury there and whatever, to prevent, to try to prevent Jesus Christ from returning. Just how significant it is, and they, some of the Bible that they believe as well. So the eastern gate, the eastern gate is certainly significant as we see here.

So next week I said, at the beginning of chapter 43, we'll talk more about that eastern gate and Christ entering into it. It's a very, very descriptive set of chapters, but we'll save that for next week with some of the the laws of the temple and the priestly functions that go on at that time as well.

So let's go back to chapter, to chapter 40.

I will read through some of the detail here about the eastern gate that we won't repeat in other gates, just so that you can see the detail that Ezekiel recorded, the detail that God gave him to record and that he dutifully recorded. It's there. Some commentaries call it a blueprint. You could take this and you could build the temple from what's in Ezekiel, just like whoever does these artist renderings have taken those and developed some of the art that we're going to see tonight.

So in verse 7, in chapter 40, it says, Each gate chamber was run rod-long and one rod-wide. Between the gate chambers, you know what? Let me pull up a different picture here because I have a more detailed one.

Stop this here on this one and pull up.

Yeah, this is a detail of the gate, the eastern gate. You can see the seven steps. Now, there are some differences between Solomon's temple and this temple as well. One of the differences are steps. You're going to read about steps that enter into the gates. You're going to read about steps that enter into the temple area that you don't see in Solomon's temple. And as he enters the temple, he talks about these three rooms that we're just talking about, these chambers in verse 7. You can see those there. Brother Shimi. Yes, go ahead. Are you sharing your screen? Am I not sharing my screen? I probably am not. Thank you. Okay, of course. Let me pull that up again here.

Now you can see it. Yes, thank you. Okay, okay, sorry about that. So you see the stairs off there to the right and these chambers that we're talking about in verse 7, you see them. As you enter the eastern gate, you have these six rooms that are there. And you can see the exact measurements that are there as we're reading in the Bible. If you want to just kind of look at that, it's all written right there. And I can read and you can kind of look and study. This is what it looks like as you move into the east gate. East gate chamber was one rod long, one rod wide. And between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits. And the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod. Verse 8, he measured the vestibule of the inside gate one rod. And he measured the vestibule of the gateway eight cubits. I'm not following the picture, but you can be looking at that. And the gate posts two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the temple. Okay, so in the eastern gateway, this is what you're looking at, were three gate chambers. One on one side and on three and three on the other. The three were all the same size, and the gate posts were the same size on this side and that side. He measured the width of the entrance of the gateway, 10 cubits, and the length of the gate, 13 cubits. There was a space, verse 12, in front of the gate chambers. You can see that, you can see that space there in front of them. One cubit on this side, one cubit on that side. The gate chambers themselves were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. You can imagine, as the person was putting together this drawing, the detail that you have to look at each of these and think about what is in here and what does this look like. Verse 13, he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other. The width was 25 cubits as door faces door. He measured the gate posts, 60 cubits high. As I see there, as I'm looking at the picture there, he measured the gate posts, 60 cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gate post. From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule, of the vest... From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule, of the inner gate was 50 cubits. So you can see how he has... how this person has done this to the detail. Verse 16 talks about... and again, these are features that you find at each one of the gates. These were... there were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and they're intervening archways on the inside of the gate way all around and likewise in the vest of yolts. There were windows all around inside and on each gate post were palm trees. Significant that there were palm trees that are there. Palm trees, of course, have a significance in the Bible.

Let me stop a share on here because palm trees are going to show up along a lot... a lot on these posts that we're going to talk about. So let me pull up a picture that an artist rendering on those... let me see...

Don't think I shared... let me... let me share... okay.

Now this is... this is on the outside, but you can see the artist rendering what the... what the palm trees inscribed on those gates would look like. You know, quite ornamental. In other places, they also have... we probably won't read the detail... well, we probably will read the detail there, but I don't have a picture of it... of... of angels... two-faced angels... a face of a man on one side and a face of a lion on the other that adorned those... that adorned those... those gate posts as well in other places as you get into the the temple area. So, as we are there, you know, that concludes the area of that eastern gate. And when we... so that's the first 16 verses that we've gone through and chapter 40. You can see the detail that's there. And then as we move into, you know, into verse 17, we have a different graphic that's there, and it is of the... it is of the...

make sure I've got the right one here... yeah, this is the inner court then. So now we're going to talk or the outer court, I guess it is. So this is the detail that's there. You see where the east gate is off to the... off to the right there. We've seen the detail of what's inside that wall as you enter into the east gate with the six chambers that are there. And then as you move... as you move toward it, you see as you move toward the center, you have the altar right there in the middle, the little red square that's there. And then the whole temple area with the Holy... the most holy place to the extreme left of where that temple is. And then you have these surrounding... the surrounding buildings where priests and singers and the elivites live. But this is the... this is the court that we're going to be talking about now. So beginning in verse 17, it says, he brought me into the outer court and there were chambers and a pavement made all around the court. 30 chambers... 30 chambers faced the pavement. Now as you look around the perimeter, you see up at the top there where it talks about 30 chambers. That's chapter 40 verse 17 that I just read. You have 30 chambers that are all part of that wall, that... that thick 10 to 12 foot wall that surrounds the temple area. So that's what he's talking about here. He brought me into the outer court. There were chambers in the pavement. 30 chambers faced the pavement. So they look out onto the pavement there, that outer court... that outer court area that you're looking at. The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways. This was the lower pavement. And then he gives some...

he gives some measurements here. He measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior. 100 cubits toward the east and the north. And you can see... you can see the 100 cubit markers there as you do. And you'll notice, again, this is a perfect square as you move down to the southern gate there at the bottom of the picture, the northern gate up at the top. You have... you have the exact same measurements all around there as God has this perfectly symmetrical. We won't get to it, but you may be wondering at that western gate, why is there a different gate over there? You have that big building marked F there. Now later we'll get to that. There's another graphic I have that's going to show all these elements, all these elements we talk about in these first three chapters. That's called the western building. And most commentaries, going back to Chronicles, say that is a storage facility. When you have a city with this many people that are there, this many people that have to be fed, this many instruments that have to be stored, you need a large storage facility. And this western building out there to the extreme left is what that would be. But we'll get to that. We'll get to that a little bit better. But just so you have a feel for what this whole area is looking like. So now we're going to go down to verse 20. It says, on the outer court, there was a gateway facing north. You see that. And he measured its length and its width. So we have the north gate up there. And while we're talking about the north gate, let's move over to chapter 44 for a moment and see what that north gate, what the significance of it is. Chapter 44. And again, there is so much detail in here that if anyone, if I'm missing something significant and someone has something to say, please, please just, you don't have to wait to raise your hand. Just bring up the point so we don't miss anything. So in chapter 44, in verse 4, again, this is Ezekiel recording what God has shown him. It says, Also he, God, brought me Ezekiel. God brought Ezekiel by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. As you come in through the north gate, you see the temple. That's there. The altar is right there in the middle. And you enter in there to come to the temple. He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. So I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. Whenever you see Ezekiel falling on his face, he's in awe at what he's seeing, just like when God took him in a vision up to the throne room and in other places as well. He falls on his face because he's overwhelmed by what he sees.

I fell on my face, and the Lord said to me, Son of Man, Mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well, who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.

So the east gate is closed off. Remember, Christ enters that. That remains shut. The north gate is the way by where people come in then to the temple. And God is saying, as they come in through that gate, Mark well. Mark well, who is entering, if you enter my temple, you may temple, you must be cleansed. You must be purified, if you will, to enter into my temple. In verse 6 he says, say to the rebellious, to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, O house of Israel, let us have no more of all of your abominations when you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh to be in my sanctuary to defile it, my house. And when you offered my food, the fat, and the blood, then they broke my covenant because of all your abominations. So he's reminding them, when you come in here, the temple, you are you are to be sanctified, purified, ready to come before the presence of God. Such a message for us as we, you know, look toward Passover, and as we examine ourselves, are we coming before God in a state where we've examined ourselves? We really have put the sin out of our lives. Whereas a congregation, as a church, that we've purified the church to, that we come before God, and the reference that he is saying here. So they say, actually, that at the North Gate there are people who are, I guess, guards, if you will, that are there to station. Who is coming into the temple area as they review them? And God recounts these. None of these people that have these impurities that we just read about in chapter 7 will be coming in to that temple, into where he is. Verse 8, he says, And you haven't kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. Thus says the Lord God, verse 9, no foreigner, no uncircumcised in heart, or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter my sanctuary. Notice what God says there, as we begin to see some of what will be in that millennial time, as physical human beings live over into the kingdom, and they're taught God's way, and the significance of the spiritual circumcision of the heart, but also the physical part that will be part of this temple complex as well, because there will be animal sacrifices that will be there. And they have a purpose in the millennium, just like they did in Old Testament times, as we'll see. No foreigner, no uncircumcised in heart, or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter my sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel. So God is pretty clear in what, who is entering into this very special area, just as we need to be examining ourselves, and collectively and individually, you know, that we are pure before God as he builds his temple. So there's a significance to the North Gate, just like we saw a significance to the East Gate. And as we go through the verses, as we go back to chapter 40, we see that the dimensions and everything that is there, the North Gate is exactly the same as it is at the East Gate. You have the six chambers, you have the seven steps in verse 22 that lead up to it. You know, even verse 23 says, the gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway, and he measured from gateway to gateway, 100 cubits. And so you have what's going on in this North Gate as well as people enter in to the temple area. So we have the East, that's where Christ enters in, the glory enters in, it's shut off. Everyone that's coming to the temple, purified through the North, and down in verse 26, verse 24, we come to the South.

Verse 24 of chapter 40. After that, he brought me toward the South, and there a gateway was facing South. You see that at the bottom of the picture there. And he measured his gateposts and archways according to those same measurements. There were windows, there were windows in it, and it's archways all around like those windows. Its length was 50 cubits and its width 75 cubits. Seven steps, seven steps led up to that South Gate, just as they did to the East Gate, just as they did to the North Gate. There was a gateway on the inner court, and he measured 100 cubits.

Verse 28, he brought me to the inner court through the Southern Gateway. He measured the Southern Gateway according to these same measurements, and then he repeats through all of those again with the very same things. The difference in the South, for some reason, in verse 31, it says, its archways faced the outer court palm trees. You remember what we saw as we saw those palm trees that were inscribed on the gate posts. Palm trees were on its gate posts, and going up to it were eight steps, eight steps this time. We have seven steps in most places, but in this place we have eight steps, and there's one other place that we see eight steps, and that's down in verse 34. What the significance of the seven steps are, the eight steps, I mean, I guess we don't know. We know seven is completion. We know eight is a significant number with the eighth day, and what God pictures through that. So it's significant that there are these steps of seven leading up, steps of eight leading up as well.

Yeah, in fact, in fact, those eight steps leading up, then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway, and those were those eight steps. If we drop down to 31, well, we were in 31, down to 35, Ezekiel says, then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to the southern gateway. And then we see the other one, which is the it according to these same measurements, also its gate chambers and its archways. It had windows all around. Length was 50 by 25. Gateposts face the outer court. Palm trees were on its gateposts outside, and going up to it were eight steps. So we have the eight steps. I see what they're doing here. Then, yeah, as you look at 40, that 40, 47 down there in those areas, you have seven steps leading up to the gates from the outside, then eight steps leading up into the temple area. So seven steps on one and eight steps on the other. Let's stick up at the north gate. I'm going to put a different picture up here. But remember this. Remember the 30 chambers that are around there. Remember what it looks like on the inside there as you move toward the altar, the red square in the middle there. The temple area, which is off to the left of that, and that western building that's marked F in this picture. The next one I put up is going to have the eastern gate at the bottom of the picture, but it's going to show a whole bunch of elements here because at the north gate we do have sacrifices going on. We're going to talk about that a little bit. So let me pull this picture down. There. Let me... and then this one. This is more of an artist's rendering. I found it on the internet and kind of highlighted in pink there, you know, all those elements that you see lifted off to the side. If you know you start with the altar, that's there in the middle where you can't really read the little number, the little letter A. You have the temple porch. You have all these elements that are here in this picture, and they're all mentioned in the chapters 40 to 43 of Ezekiel. So you see that down at the bottom there in the picture you have the east gate. We've talked about that. You have the chambers. There's six chambers that are in this that that gate. Six chambers in the north gate and south gate as well. And then you have those 30 chambers around the outside of the wall. But if you look at where the north gate is, off to the right, you see the little letter T, and I marked in there the four tables for sacrifices. That's where the sacrifices were going to be done outside of that inner court where the temple is and where the priests would be.

So let's pick that up in verse 39 of chapter 40. In verse 39 it says, In the vestibule of the gateway... Well, okay, we're in the north gate. We just read that here a little bit ago in verse 35. Verse 38, there was a chamber and its entrance by the gate post of the gateway where they washed the burnt offering. So the north gate, people were bringing their offerings. They had these four tables that are going to be used for the offerings. There was a chamber where they washed the burnt offering. Verse 39, verse 39 says, In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

So there in the temple area you will have these sacrifices, these offerings that are happening. The people will bring them in through the north gate. The priests will be there, and those will be offered on those tables. Now this is different from Solomon's table. This offering area is not as big as Solomon's offering area, but it's there. It's notable that there will be sacrifices in the millennium, just as there were in Old Testament times. A lot of people will ask, why would there be physical sacrifices, animal sacrifices, during the millennium when Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords at this time? Isn't he the sacrifice that did away with all the need for all of those other animal sacrifices of the Old Testament?

And the answer is that there is something to be learned about blood, the price of blood for sin, and that their blood has to be spilled for the sins that we commit—the sin offerings, the trespass offerings, the burnt offerings that are there. Even though Jesus Christ is there, there's an element. As I've listened to some of the things, and one of the things you might mark down that you would find very interesting as we go through this whole temple discussion—Tom Robinson at the thesis past year—I'm not sure exactly where he was, but on October 18th, if you go in and put his name in and in UCG sermons, he gave an hour and 15-minute Bible study on the temple—the millennial temple—and it, he very eloquently describes the reason that there will be sacrifices, animal sacrifices, in the kingdom. The reason we don't have animal sacrifices today is because there's no temple today. The same reason the Jews who are still waiting for the first coming of the Messiah aren't sacrificing is because there is no temple. If there was a temple today, as Mr. Robinson shows, you do see, you do see, the apostle Paul there going into the temple, that he is taking a Nazarite vow. There are sacrifices being done. There is a lesson to learn from the physical sacrifice that's done, and people who live over into the kingdom that are beginning to live God's way and understand God's way learn the lesson that the animal sacrifice, the blood must be spilt so that we can get the greater spiritual element of Christ paid.

Through his blood, he was the ultimate sacrifice. All the blood of all the bulls and goats and lambs and rams that have been sacrificed can't forgive sins. Only his can.

But there will be those, as we see clearly demonstrated here, these sacrifices during that time. In fact, if we go to chapter 43, you know, we see that as this area and the altar is being prepared for sacrifices in these tables, God even has a purification procedure that goes in so that they can be prepared to begin receiving those sacrifices. If we look at chapter 43 and verse 18, and again, there's the altar in the center of the inner court there. As you remember from that other picture, and you see by a little pink A there in this picture. In verse 18, it says, And God said to Ezekiel, Son of man, thus says the Lord God, these are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made for sacrificing burnt offerings on it and for sprinkling blood on it. You shall give a young bull for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of Zadok, who approach me to minister to me, says the Lord God. Take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it. Thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. Very similar instructions to what Solomon's temple is. Do the same thing there. Cleanse it, put some blood on it. Blood shed blood, in a way cleanses.

There's an offering of blood for the sins that we've committed. Verse 21, Then you shall take the bull of the sin offering and burn it in the appointed place of the temple outside the sanctuary. On the second day, offer a kind a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bull.

23. When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. When you offer them before the Lord, the priest shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the eternal. Every day for seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering. They shall prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish. Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, purified by blood, made ready, made ready, and so consecrated. When these days are over, it shall be on the eighth day and thereafter that the priest shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar, and I will accept you, says the Lord God. So we can see the ritual as the temple is built and as it begins to be put into service, God even ordains what the process for preparing for those sacrifices to be offered is, and then people will be bringing sacrifices just in the Old Testament days. And as they would be today, if indeed there was a temple today that was there, but there is no temple. When there is no temple, there are no sacrifices. And so that's, and as you look at where the Jews are in Israel, and as they think of these red heifers, and they see the danger that they're in, and they know that they need to please God, and they want to please God, that's where their urgency is in red heifer. Get that, get that purification, the purification of that red heifer, those ashes ready. Get the priests ready to serve and go through that process of cleansing so they can serve in a temple that they think they are going to build, but they will be able to begin doing those sacrifices even without the temple, just as they, as the, just as the precedent was set in Ezra 3 verse 6. So we go back to chapter 40. We'll look back to chapter 40, and you have the visual through the north gate where these people who are, who would be cleansed as they come in, you know, through that gate, as these guards are there to watch what's going on, you know, they're coming in to do these sacrifices that are there. So we were in verse 39.

We're in verse 39. Let's read verse 40 as we go back to chapter 40. Talk about, yes, go right ahead, please.

Okay, you mentioned, you mentioned seven steps, right? Yes. One place you mentioned eight? Yes. You just triggered a thought. We go to the feast for seven days, right? Right. There's eighth day. You just mentioned this here. Seven days, they did all the sacrifices, right? Yep. But the eight steps has to be the holy one because it said on the eighth day, this is where the sacrifice and then I will accept you. Just the thought. It's kind of ironic. It's, it's, there's a reason I has all that detail in there, right? Everything, everything that has a significance. Very good. So, yeah.

Hey, Bernice. Good thing that... Oh, go ahead. Was that Bill? And then we'll do Bernice. Yeah, while you were reading that, I was thinking about Leviticus 16. I don't know if any conclusive ideas here, but when the goats were being chosen and the bull for Aaron to go in, or the bull and, you know, when the, the scapegoat was done for Satan to get him out of there.

But I wondered about similarities between that incident and this incident, where he reestablishes that cleansing issue, you know. I think it's significant. I think we could spend weeks in comparing the sacrifices and everything, and probably some significant lessons we could learn if we delved into this, especially when we look at this millennial temple and the detail that's there. So, yeah, those are good thoughts, and bringing those all together. You know, even as, even as you look at, in our UCG Bible commentary, which also has a lot, a lot of detail about this, if you're interested in that, much more than I'm talking about here, you see the commentaries, but you see our commentary as well. Go back into Chronicles, go back into Exodus, and look at some of the details that are there that fill in the blanks of what is going on with the sacrifices and some of the things. There are some notable differences between this temple and the old temple, right? You'll see that there is no Ark of the Covenant there. You see there is no lampstands that are mentioned there. Things like that because Jesus Christ is there now. You don't need the Ark of the Covenant there. There is a most holy place, but there are some of those elements that are missing in this temple that are very prominent through the Old Testament temple. Don't need them now because Jesus Christ is there, but you still need the sacrifices, which is notable. They are still a teaching tool, and they still are a cleansing tool and a purification tool for people that are coming there. That's notable when you look at some of the differences between then and the future in this temple. Bernice, I know you had a question.

Yes. So when you said that when Israel starts sacrificing again animals, will that be an abomination to God, or will it be acceptable because, as we know, Jesus fulfilled that law? Yeah, the Jews and Israel, when they start doing that, I don't know if God will accept it or not. They're going to be sacrificing because in their minds they are honoring God. They, of course, don't believe that Jesus Christ is a Messiah, so they're looking for the first Messiah. It does say in Daniel 12 that those sacrifices will be stopped as armies surround Jerusalem. So that's the subject for another Bible study, Bernice, but yeah, there will be those, but the temple itself is not likely to be built. This millennial temple is for the millennial time of Jesus Christ. Okay. And Zoom user, if I remember, are you Kay? Yes, I am. Thank you.

I just wanted to say I'm going to have to jump off here in a minute, but I just wanted to say the number eight means new beginnings. There you go. Okay. New beginnings. Yeah, that's right. It's the eighth day. So those eight steps, seven and eight steps, do have significance and a meaning when you stop and ponder what God is doing here. So, okay, let's go on in verse, or do I have another? Betsy, did you have a question?

Yeah, I'm just wondering if we know what the time frame is from the return of Christ, to when this temple will be established. You know, it is quite an elaborate structure, isn't it? No, we don't know. I think, you know, this is just my speculation. When you talk about the ruins being rebuilt and all the building that goes on after Jesus Christ returns, I'm thinking that the Israelites have a hand in building this temple, right? And that it's going to be built just like at the time of Solomon's Temple. I don't know how long it took seven, wasn't it seven years for Solomon's Temple to be built? This one's more elaborate, so maybe maybe the same type, maybe that's 10 years. Who knows? Only God knows. When you were going through the seven days of the sacrifices, is that like the consecration of the temple? Yes.

Thank you. And I thought I saw another hand, but I don't see it now. Am I missing someone?

Okay, well then let's go on in verse 40 then. We'll keep focused on these sacrifices and those tables that are by the letter T there. It says, at the outer side of the vestibule, there were the two tables, and at the other side there were the two tables. Four tables on this side, four tables on that side, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices. We only have four there, so it looks like there should be another four on the other side of that gate. There were four tables of human stone, verse 42, for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one and a half wide, one cubit high. On these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and sacrifice. Inside, verse 43, were hooks, a handbreath wide, fastened all around, and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables. And so you see, God has that detail in there as they, the animals were sacrificed, even where the flesh would be, where the instruments would be laid, where the flesh would be hung. So if we move on to chapter 40, or verse 44, it says, outside the inner gate were the chambers for the singers in the inner court. Now, you'll see that's the letter M. The letter M is where you see right next to where those four tables are. And as you look at that structure, there are some rooms and some chambers in that area. And it says, that's where the singers will be in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gate and the other facing north at the side of the southern gateway. So you have those two areas right in there that you can see, kind of those two large areas at the south gate and north gate. The singers will be there. So we won't take the time to go back to 1 Chronicles. If you go back to 1 Chronicles 6, you'll see that the old temple, there were singers and there were the musicians that were there at the temple. So God even makes provision for the singers and the musical elements of the temple that will be there as well. And then in verse 45, He said to me, this chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the table. So if you look at our little graphic over there, you have the letter I. The letter I is to the left of—you can't really read it that well—just to the north of the place where the singers will be at the south gate. And there's two little pink dots up there that are the letter I. That's where the priests would be staying. God says, this chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple. The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge for the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi who come near the Lord to minister to him. So I'm going to—well, I'm going to leave this graphic up. If you can see, can you see a little hand moving there? These areas here are three stories high.

And so God's going to talk about how the bottom is a little higher than the second floor is a little less, and they're kind of terraced up there. Three stories right in here. There's three stories right in here as well. And so you can almost see the terraces over in here. That's where the priests are staying. The temple there is that large structure that's B, C, D, and E in the pink with the western building right there at the back in K. So if we move forward to chapter 41, in verse 1, it says, He brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts.

They were six by six, the width of the tabernacle, and the width of the entry was 10 high. It says there, and it gives some measurements. Verse 4, He measured the length, twenty cubits, and the width with twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary. And He said to me, This is the Most Holy Place. So right in here, if you can see that hand moving, that's the temple area. And right in the back where this letter B, C, D, E is, that's the Most Holy Place where that relates back to the Most Holy Place back in Old Testament time as well.

So this is the Most Holy Place. And then He talks about the three chambers on each side, the three stories in verse 6, 30 chambers in each story. So 30 chambers in each of these here as we go. And then in verse 9, He talks about the thickness of the outer wall and things like that. A lot of detail in here. Let me just point out some of the things as we're looking at this tabernacle. Of course, we've seen the altar. As we look down here in the corners, at the four corners, here they're called boiling places. And other places are called the kitchens. This is where food is prepared, right? In the four corners of the whole city there, as you go around there. You have the 30 chambers we talked about along the outside of the wall.

10 10 10. We talked about...let me see if we've missed anything here. I think we've hit everything on that. Of course, we have this western building here, which we talked about. The size of it there indicates that it is most likely a storage facility where many of the things are stored that go to the functioning of this really temple complex, this city, the city that is there.

I'm going to take this down for a moment, and I'm going to put back up this one, I think. Yeah, this is the first one we looked at. Going back to the whole complex again, you can see better in this picture the three-storied, the three-storied, tiered buildings where the priests and the Levites live. Right there, again, I don't know if you can see my pointer that's there.

But, you know, we have in verse 22 of chapter 41, you know, I was talking about the temple or the altar here. It says, the altar was of wood, three cubits high, and it gives its dimensions there.

This is the table that is before the Lord. And then the door. It's notable the gates that are here that in red are on that. And the doors, the doors, how they are, how they close. The door, it says in verse 24, had two panels apiece, two folding panels, two panels for one door, two panels for the other. And that's where the cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple, just as they were carved on the walls. And so that's where we have the, that's where we have, we go back to verse 19. It talks about the cherub having two faces.

Verse 19 of chapter 41, so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side. I couldn't find a graphic of that any place. Thus, it was made throughout the temple all around. So you have this complex that is there. I'm looking ahead at chapter 42 here to kind of refresh my mind of what is there. I think mainly what's there in chapter 42 is talking about these three stories that I was pointing out that you see just to the right of that 25-story building entrance into the temple with the three-tiered buildings that are right there where the priest lives.

Verse 6, it talks about they were in three stories, didn't have pillars like the pillars of the courts, the upper level was shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. So that's the artist's surrendering there.

Verse 13. Let's look at chapter 42, verse 13. Mr. Chabie. Yes, yes, please go ahead.

One quick question. I'm a builder. What is this being made out of? Is that coming later?

You know what? I can't say that I've seen what it's made out of. I guess, I don't know, I don't remember reading that, actually. Good question. It's made out of something, though, isn't it? It doesn't talk about wood like it does in the other things. So I guess we'll find out what it's made of.

You're a builder, Bill?

I was. I'm a little old for now.

Okay. Hi, Mr. Chabie. This is Bob Bloboy. Hey, Bob. Yeah, there's a YouTube video. It shows a lot of material. It's a very well done clip in YouTube. I wish I could post a link here, but I'll email it to you. But it's a lot of gold, a lot of precious stones and everything. It goes well done. It's 3D modeling of this temple that we're studying. It's very fascinating. Very good. Yeah, that sounds interesting. I never looked at any of the YouTube things on that. So let's look at verses 13 and 14 here in chapter 42 as it talks more about the priests and the offerings and where they eat them. Verse 13 says, he said to me, the North Chambers and the South Chambers—you remember where those were? Those are those little buildings we talked about there where the priests stay—the North Chambers and the South Chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering, for the place is holy. So that's where they will eat the offerings that are brought. Verse 14, when the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court, but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments, then they may approach that which is for the people. So again, God gives some of the directions for the priests, too. This is where the sacrifice happens. This is where you eat. These are the clothes that you're wearing when you do this. When you leave that area, you leave those clothes behind. Now, when you approach the people, you're in other garments. So God is very detailed in how he wants to be worshipped and honored in the temple. Again, lessons that we can apply to ourselves as we think about the temple he's building in us and as we appear before him each week as well. I think let me look at my notes here. Excuse me, Mr. Shannon. Go right ahead. So are the priests that are doing all of this work, are they in physical bodies?

What's happened to the firstfruits? Firstfruits, remember the firstfruits in Isaiah 30, they are kings and priests right under Christ. They are working with the masses. Let's go back to Isaiah 30 and we'll see. We're teaching. This is a physical temple that is in operation here with physical people operating it. Not to say there might not be some firstfruits there working with the people there, but if you go back to chapter 30 of Isaiah, we see what we'll be doing. We'll be working in wherever it is that Jesus Christ wants us to be, working with the people and teaching them. In verse 20 of Isaiah 30 it says, "...and though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers won't be moved into a corner anymore, but your eye shall see your teachers. You will hear a word behind you saying, this is the way. Walk in it whenever you turn to the right or to the left or whenever you turn to the right or to the left." And so we'll be out there. We'll be working with people in the various areas around the world, not just in Jerusalem, wherever there are people all over that Middle Eastern area and whatever that will be being taught God's ways, or whatever Christ wants us to do.

That's what we'll be doing. This is the temple area. That's not the entire population of the world at that time. That's one area. Remember that David is king over all of Israel. We talked about in Matthew where the 12 apostles are kings over the various 12 tribes of Israel, but we also have the Gentile nations that are out there as well. Some speculate that Paul will be king over those Gentile areas, but somewhere in there, you and I, provided that we continue to walk with God and allow him to perfect us, will be working in those areas wherever he puts us as well, not just in the temple area. Yes, okay, thank you. Hey, Mr. Shaby. Yes, Mo, or no, Barry. Yes, over in chapter 44 in verse 18, it says, they shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. Right there tells you they're physical human beings. Yep, very good. The priests do it. Yep, I'm going to circle that one. We were going to get to chapter 44 next week, but yeah, that answers that question right from the Bible. Okay, let's stop there for tonight. So we've got the physical complex, and so we can kind of see where that is. Next week we'll look at chapter 43 and Christ entering that temple with His glory, and then some of what the instructions are in 44, 45, and probably 46. As we piece through this, there's not as much detail in those chapters. So I'm not sure how far we'll get in 44 and 45 next week as there were in these other three chapters. But again, let me remind you, if you want, go find Tom Robinson's Bible study. I think it was October 18.

I'm sure it just talks about a temple, but if you put in Tom Robinson's name October 18, it'll come right up there. Very, very interesting Bible study on this temple, and he does draw a lot of conclusions that are very sound in why a physical temple, why physical sacrifices. Also, you can look at the UCG Bible commentary for chapters 40, 41, 42, and 43. There's a lot more detail with these measurements that I could possibly cover here tonight. But if you're interested in that, go back and you'll find that very interesting. But you have to take the time. You have to take the time to study through there and way through it to get the detail.

So let me stop there then, and if there's any other questions or anything else anyone wants to talk about. Mr. Shaby? What was that Tom Robinson? What? That was October. All I got was his name.

Yeah, Tom Robinson. It was October 18. I'm sure the word temple isn't the title, but I didn't write down the title. I think probably the millennial temple is in it. So October 18th of this year. Of this year, yes. I mean last year. Well, yeah, he gave it at the piece.

Okay, it was the Bible study at Branson. Oh, at Branson. Very good. Oh, Bible. Thank you. Okay, Ms. Readers.

I was just wondering before we get away from this construction, isn't there a gate on the what would that be down there? The west side? On the west side? Yeah, it's not so much a gate. That's where the that's where that big building is. If you look there at the top right there, I don't know if that point is going up on yours at all, but you don't see a gate there. And that's where that building is. And that's what they think. If we go back to 1 Chronicles, there was a storage building in the Old Temple. And that's what many of the commentators think that large building is for. So do they do they have a gate back there, where they could bring stuff in? That's probably a good point. Let me... They probably do. They probably do. I don't see that in this picture.

And I don't remember reading about a western gate, but maybe I missed that. But I don't remember a western gate, but maybe it's there just to bring things into the storage area. But people don't enter in by it. Oh, thank you. Okay. Dale? Yeah, good evening. Could I ask a favor, first of all?

My number shows up instead of my name on the... Could you possibly fix that? I don't think I can fix that, but I think you can. If you go into some setting, you can... Because it used to say your name up there, so... Yeah, I have tried to fix it, but anyway, I'll keep working on it. Okay. I just wanted to mention that it seems like there's definitely a feast component to the comings and goings in the temple, right? And only Christ can go in through the East Gate.

It seems like it really could be very much connected to the Holy Day observances.

Or do you think there might also be a year round in some respects, too, I guess? Well, Isaiah too says, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, right?

It's the temple. This is where they're going. So I think it's very large for that very purpose.

Of course, in Zechariah 14, it says, all the nations will be going up and keeping the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Polka. There's no range. So this is a very... Yeah, I think it is very Holy Day center, just like it was an Old Testament time when you see the people going there three times a year. Great point and good thought. Yes. Thank you. Hey, Bill. Hey, Bill. So I was wondering, will Christ dwell there at that temple?

Good question.

I mean, it's his house, right? I think he will be there. I mean, he can be on the present. I think his presence is there. Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. So it's his place. And, you know, it does... We'll read chapter 43. I mean, his glory is certainly there.

And it's his house. So yeah, we'll talk about that more next week. Good question, though.

Well, also, I was wondering, do the sacrifices have anything to do with, like, purification so he can be among the people?

You're talking about the priests or... You mean Christ?

The other people who be in the temple, because of Christ as in his glory, they couldn't be around him without the sacrifices, could they? I mean, is that part of it?

That's part of the reason for the sacrifices, is that they're purified and cleansed as they come into the presence of the temple. You know, in the Old Testament, the Most Holy Place, you had the Ark of the Covenant, and you had the Cherubim and whatever. You don't have the Ark of the Covenant there, because Christ is there. So it might indicate that he is there a lot of the time. I mean, I think we'll have to look at some of that next week. I've got three or four things that aren't in that temple. I mentioned the Lambstand, the Ark, and I will draw more about that next week as we get into some more of the detail here in these chapters.

All right, thank you.

Hey, Jim.

Yeah, hi, Mr. Shaby. I think in chapter 43 and verse 7, it tells us why that he is going here. Yep, Son of Man, this is the place of my throne. This is the place you installed my feet.

Yep, that's next week's. We'll do the first 12 verses of 43. We did the cleansing of the thing, the cleansing of the sacrificial areas this week, but next week we'll do that as we head into some of the laws of the temple and some of the other things as well.

Okay. Okay. Okay, well, there is an awfully lot. There's an awfully lot, and you can imagine if you were Ezekiel and God showed you this vision and said, write it all down, write it all down and pay attention. Fix your mind on it. The detail that's implanted or just permanently in his mind. So we have his recordings here, which are quite exciting.

Okay, anything else anyone? Okay, then I'm going to go ahead and say good night.

We will certainly have a very good Sabbath. Bill, did you have a question before we go?

Okay, Bill, did you have a question before we go?

Okay, wait, hold on just a second. Bill might have a question.

The Ark of the Covenant will be revealed before Christ returns.

Well, you know, when you look at Revelation 6, it says the heavens are open. We can talk about that next week and the Ark of the Covenant is there. I think no one knows where the Ark is. I do think that when Christ returns, we'll see where that Ark is. Yeah.

But before that, I don't think so. But that's my personal opinion. No, thank you. Okay, good night again. Good night again. We'll see you all next Wednesday night. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Bye.