ATE054 “Only For His Glory - I Saw Visions - Ezekiel Chapter 41”

We continue in the last of the Visions given to Ezekiel by Yahweh! These visions are given by Yahweh about Yahweh Himself and His Church. The temple not  just a real building but also a precise description of image of Christ, His Kingdom and His Church. Let’s Continue:

Ezekiel Chapter 41 LEB

“And he brought me to the temple sanctuary, and he measured the pilasters, six cubits wide on each side; this was the width of the tent. And the width of the doorway was ten cubits, and the sidewall of the doorway was five cubits on each side, and he measured its length as forty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits. And he went into the inner room, and he measured the pilaster of the doorway as two cubits and the doorway as six cubits and the width of the doorway seven cubits. And he measured its length as twenty cubits and its width as twenty cubits to the front of the temple, and he said to me, “This is the most holy place. And he measured the wall of the temple as six cubits, and the width of the side room as four cubits all along the outside wall for the temple all around the wall. And the side rooms were side by side in three stories and a total of thirty rooms, and there were offsets in the wall, which was for the temple for the side rooms, all the way around to be supports, and so they were not supports extending into the wall of the temple. And each level widened, and it went around upward to the side rooms for the structure that surrounds the temple upward all the way around, therefore the width increased to the temple upward, and thus the lower level goes up to the upper level by means of the middle story. And I saw for the temple a platform all the way around the foundations of the side rooms; it was the length of a full reed, six cubits long. The width of the outside wall, which was for the side room to the outside, was five cubits, and a space that was set between the side rooms, which was for the temple and between the chambers was the width of twenty cubits all around the temple, all the way around it. And the doorway of the side room faced the open area; one doorway faced the north, and one doorway was to the south, and the width of the place of the open area was five cubits all around. And the building that faced the courtyard was toward the west, and its width was seventy cubits, and the wall of the building was five cubits wide all the way around, and its length was ninety cubits. And he measured the temple, and its length was a hundred cubits, and the courtyard and the building and its walls, their length was a hundred cubits. And the width of the front of the temple and the courtyard to the east was a hundred cubits. And he measured the length of the building facing the courtyard at the rear and its galleries, a hundred cubits on each side, and also the temple, the court, and the porticos of the courtyard, the thresholds and the framed windows and the galleries around the three of them. Before the threshold was a covering of wood all around, and from the ground up to the windows, and all around the windows, they were covered. Above the doorway and up to the inner temple and on the outside, and on all of the wall all the way around in the inner and in the outer areas were patterns, and it was made of cherubim and palm tree images; a palm tree image between cherub and cherub, and the cherub had two faces. And the face of a human was toward the palm tree image on the one side, and the face of a fierce strong lion faced the palm tree image on the other side; this work was executed for the entire temple all the way around. From the ground up to above the doorway, the cherubim and the palm tree images were made, and also the outer wall of the temple. As far as the temple is concerned its doorframe was squared, and before the sanctuary was the appearance as it were the appearance of a wooden altar that was three cubits high, and its length was two cubits, and its corners for it and its length and its walls were of wood. And he spoke to me, “This is the table that is before Yahweh.” And the two doors were for the temple and for the sanctuary. And two leaves of a door were for each of the doors, two hinged leaves of a door: two were for the first door, and two leaves of a door were for the other door. And cherubim were made on them, that is, on the doors of the temple and palm tree images like the ones prepared for the walls; and an overhang of wood was on the surface of the porticos on the outside. “And narrow windows and palm tree images were on either side, and on the side walls of the portico, and the side rooms of the temple and their overhang.”

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EZEKIEL 41 – MEASURING THE NEW TEMPLE

A. The temple in general.

1. (1-4) The dimensions of the sanctuary.

Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle. The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits. He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

a. Then he brought me into the sanctuary: Because Ezekiel was a priest himself, he could go into the sanctuary – the holy place – with his radiant guide. It was a real room with actual spatial dimensions.

b. He went inside: Ezekiel did not follow his radiant guide into the Most Holy Place. Ezekiel was a priest, but not the high priest, who alone had access into the holy of holies. Again, this was a real room with actual, measurable dimensions.

2. (5-11) The walls of the temple with their chambers.

Next, he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side. The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but not fastened to the wall of the temple. As one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one. I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, a full rod, that is, six cubits high. The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple. And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.

a. The side chambers were in three stories: As part of the temple building, there was an arrangement of rooms and chambers, and these were on three different levels.

i. “The description of the side rooms (Ezekiel 41:5-11) is difficult to follow. They were probably used to store gifts and tithes and various temple vessels (cf. Nehemiah 13:5, 9, 12).” (Wright)

b. The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits: The walls of the temple building were thick and secure. Ezekiel did not see a spiritual building, but a carefully engineered and strongly built structure.

i. “The massiveness of the walls is remarkable; both inside and outside walls are thicker than the width of the rooms.” (Block)

3. (12) The building to the west of the temple.

The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

a. The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end: The western side of the temple complex had no gate, and this building stood at its western end.

b. The wall of the building was five cubits thick: This was a substantial building with real, measurable dimensions.

B. Features of the temple.

1. (13-17) The temple building as a whole.

a. He measured the temple, one hundred cubits long: The temple building itself was 172 feet (52.5 meters) long.

b. Their doorposts and the beveled window frames: Ezekiel and his guide noticed not only the dimensions but also the design details of the temple.

2. (18-20) Designs on the temple building.

a. It was made with cherubim and palm trees: The design of palm trees has been frequently noted before in Ezekiel’s temple, and was also featured in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:29-35). The design of cherubim was prominent in both the previous tabernacle and temple (Exodus 25:18-22, 26:1; 1 Kings 6:23-35).

i. “In these figures aspirations of life and prosperity (palm) and security (cherubim) coalesce. In Israelite thought, the divine resident of this house was the source of both.” (Block)

b. Each cherub had two faces…the face of a man…and the face of a young lion: We learn from Ezekiel 10:14 (and Revelation 4:7) that cherubim have four faces. Here, two of the four faces are noted and depicted in the design.

i. “It is interesting to notice the two types of life represented by the two faces of the cherubim, one being a man and the other a young lion. Interpreted by the earlier symbolism of the prophecy, this suggested perfect realisation of created life, and its perfect exercise in kingly dominion.” (Morgan)

3. (21-22) The table before the LORD.

The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar. The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”

a. The altar was of wood: This does not seem to be the same altar mentioned previously in Ezekiel 40:47. This altar is too small for animal sacrifice with a height of just over 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) and a length of less than 3.5 feet (about 1 meter). Made of wood and normally covered with metal, this is likely the altar of incense that stood inside the temple building. It was a representation of the prayers of God’s people.

i. “The altar of Ezekiel 40:22 was not the altar of sacrifice, nor the table of shewbread, but the altar of incense before the Lord (see Exodus 30:1-3; I Kings 7:48). It has been suggested that it was an altarlike table (cf. Ezekiel 44:16).” (Feinberg)

b. This is the table that is before the LORD: Standing in the holy place, just outside of the most holy place, this altar of incense could be said to stand before the LORD. It was also true because of its use, representing prayers that come before God.

4. (23-26) The doors of the temple.

 a. The doors had two panels: The doors were of some sort of folding construction, having two panels presumably hinged in some way.

i. John Trapp’s comment on these doors shows the subjective and speculative nature of spiritualizing Ezekiel’s temple. He thought the doors spoke of the Lord’s Supper and baptism: “Understand hereby the means of grace, and ministers dispensing the same, whereby souls are brought home to Christ.”

b. A wooden canopy was on the front: Once more, the detailed nature of this description only makes sense if Ezekiel described a literal, material temple that will one day stand in Jerusalem.