Friday, May 2, 2014

PART ONE - EZEKIEL’S MILLENNIAL TEMPLE

 

"Describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them." Ezekiel 43.10-11

This study of Ezekiel’s Millennial Temple (Ezekiel 40-48) is from the vision Ezekiel had over 2500 years ago. This vision occurred to him on 10 Tishri which is the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur (Ezekiel 40.1). He was translated to Mt. Zion when this vision occurred. The ancient Jewish rabbis considered this to be the Third Temple which would be built in the time of, and by, the Messiah.

The knowledge of Messiah will fill the earth at the time of this Millennial Temple and will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. The city of Jerusalem will be called “Yahweh Shamah” The Lord is There in that day. In the Millennial Kingdom the Messiah will teach us His ways:

But it shall come to pass in the last of the times that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the top of the mountains and higher than all the hills, and peoples shall flow unto it. And many Gentiles shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Micah 4.1-3

WHY ARE THERE ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLE?
If we believe that the book of Ezekiel is inspired prophecy from God then what Ezekiel saw must come to pass in a literal way. The reason for animal sacrifices are several. First we acknowledge that, “it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” The book of Hebrews 10.4-11 make this clear. Animal sacrifices “can never take away sins.”

The blood of bulls and goats have NEVER taken away sins for anyone in the past, present, or future! Those who lived before Yeshua came were saved by faith (Romans 4.3). The animal sacrifices were a “shadow of good things to come” and pointed towards the blood of Yeshua the Messiah. It has always been about Yeshua and not animal sacrifices. The sacrificial system in the Old Testament was a shadow of Messiah’s sacrifice. In the coming Millennial Temple the animal sacrifices will point to that sacrifice Yeshua made for us--this temple will be a teaching tool for the nations.

Hebrews 7-10 explain the meaning of blood sacrifices. During the millennial reign of Yeshua the animal sacrifices will be the object lessons that look back in remembrance of what Yeshua has accomplished for us, just as the Old Covenant sacrifices looked forward to what He would do for us. This will be a teaching tool for the nations to understand the tremendous sacrifice God made for us in giving up His only beloved son as a sacrifice for our sins!


THE SERVICE OF THE PRIESTS
There are demands for an order of service in the Millennial Temple that the priests will be responsible to carry out (Ezek 43-46). The first order of business will be to consecrate the altar. There is an eight day process described in Ezekiel 43.18-27 that consecrates the altar for service. These sacrifices are an object lesson that the spiritual sacrifices of our hearts be pure, cleansed, and sanctified in thanksgiving to Yahweh God:

With what shall I present myself before the LORD, and how shall I worship the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my rebellion, the fruit of my bowels for the sin of my soul? He has declared unto thee, O man, what is good and what the LORD requires of thee: only to do right judgment, and to love mercy, and to humble thyself to walk with thy God. Micah 6.6-8, also ref: Heb 13.16; 1 Peter 2.5; Ps 40.6-8

The nations that remain after the battle at Armageddon will have no understanding of what Yeshua did to remove their sins. They are going to be taught in the Millennial Kingdom. They will be coming to Jerusalem to learn about Yeshua and Yahweh’s eternal plan. These sacrifices will be a visual teaching tool to help them understand. This will be a 1000 year school. When the New Jerusalem comes down a thousand years later there will be no temple--the Lord will be the temple (Rev 21.22)! It will be an incredible new world at that time. The Millennial Kingdom is a time of learning about God and His government. The Millennial Temple Ezekiel saw will be the center of learning! That’s why there will be animal sacrifices used as a teaching tool.

The next thing we see in Ezekiel 44.1-9 are the entrances and exits of the temple grounds. The Lord enters the temple by the eastern gate and no man is allowed access through this gate. The only other person allowed through this gate at certain times is the “prince” who is allowed to eat bread in the vestibule before the Lord. The prince is most likely King David as we will discuss later.


Entering and Leaving the Temple:
But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that enters in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go forth opposite it.
Ezek 46.9

This way of entering and leaving will maintain a steady and orderly way for the nations to enter and leave. It will also perform a spiritual function. It is symbolic of our being changed from glory to glory in Yeshua (2 Corinthians 3.18). Each time we come into the presence of the Lord we are changed more and more into His likeness and we leave different than when we came.

Those who have not been circumcised in their hearts will not be allowed to enter the sanctuary:

Thus hath the Lord GOD said; No son of a stranger, uncircumcised in heart nor uncircumcised in flesh shall enter into my sanctuary, of any sons of strangers that are among the sons of Israel (Ezek 44.9). This will be part of the lesson.


GATE KEEPERS
The Levites who went astray from Yahweh after idols will be the gatekeepers in the temple. They will be forbidden to enter the Holy of Holies or come near any of Yahweh’s holy things (Ezek 44.4-14). Each gate in the temple complex will serve as checkpoints for people when they enter and leave. These rebellious priests will have the lowly job of working the gates. They are being taught by God and will never again be rebellious. They may be explaining to those entering the way to be saved through faith in Yeshua the Messiah of Israel.

Other Levites who went astray after idols will be the ministers of the temple who slay the burnt offerings and the people’s sacrifices. They will stand before the people and minister to them, but they will not be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies or come near any of the Lord’s Holy things. These priests will be the laborers in the temple as part of their lessons for being disobedient in the past:

And they shall not come near unto me, to serve me as priests, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to my most holy things: but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. Ezek 44.13
These priests and ministers of the temple will most likely be responsible for preparing the meals that will be cooked and served in the temple during the Feast’s of the Lord. There are kitchens in each of the four corners of the temple complex. The outer court will serve as a dining place for the meals prepared from the animal sacrifices. Many meals will be served in the outer court during feasts and other celebration from these animal sacrifices--another learning tool.


RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SONS OF ZADOK
The priests who did not rebel against Yahweh are like the “sons of Zadok” and will be able to minister before the Lord. They will offer the fat and the blood of the sacrifices, stand before the Lord and enter His sanctuary. Ezekiel 44.15-31 describe the laws and ordinances concerning this group of priests.

And the first of all the firstfruits of all things, and every offering of all, of every sort of your offerings, shall be the priest’s; ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in your house. Ezek 44.30

Tomorrow: Part Two

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