EZEKIEL’S MILLENNIAL TEMPLE STUDY
The following is a short study on Ezekiel’s Millennial Temple and some thoughts on why certain things will be done in this temple. For a detailed study see the link:
"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 43.10-11This 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 573-572 CE. This 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. Ezekiel 44.30
ECONOMICS IN THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLE GOVERNMENT
All the temples in scripture were economic centers and the Millennial Temple is no different. Economic trading standards will be established here with true justice:
Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel, remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and righteousness, take away your exactions from my people, said the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances and a just ephah and a just bath. Ezekiel 45.9-10
The ephah is the unit of measure for dry goods such as wheat or flour. The bath is the standard unit of measure for liquid goods such as milk or oil.
And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, with twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. Ezekiel 45.12
The shekel is the standard unit of measure in weight for precious metals such as gold and silver. In Israel today the money they use is called the shekel. When the government of the nations rests on Yeshua’s shoulders, and is administered through the Temple in Jerusalem, the economy will function in God’s order, justice, and righteousness!
GOD’S ORDER OF GOVERNMENT IN THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM
The ordinances for the “prince” are described in Ezekiel 45.13-17 and 46.16-18. He is given many privileges and duties in the Millennial Temple Government. The scriptures indicate that King David will be the prince in this temple. In the context of the end of the age when we are gathered back to Israel this is what Ezekiel 37.24-28 says:
“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore.
My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”
Ezekiel 34.23-24 is very clear: I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. Also see: Jeremiah 30.9; Isaiah 55.3-5; Hosea 3.4-5
At the resurrection of the dead David along with the Old Covenant saints will be resurrected along with us. They too have an earthly inheritance with us in the Millennial Kingdom (MK).
Yeshua will be ruling over the entire earth while David will be the king of Israel. Yeshua, the Branch or descendant of David, will rule as the head of all government during the MK:
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jer23.5-6
The resurrected King David will be the prince and King of Israel while Yeshua will be the good shepherd over all His people and King of all the earth (Rev 11.15; 19.15). David, the prince, will be responsible for giving special burnt offerings and peace offerings at the observance of each weekly Sabbath, monthly New Moons (first of each month), and all the yearly appointed feasts of the Lord (Ezek 45.13-17):
Sabbaths and New Moons - Thus hath the Lord GOD said: The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; and the day of the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the same manner it shall be opened the day of the new moon. And the prince shall enter from outside by the way of the porch of that gate and shall stand by the threshold of the gate (while the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings), and he shall worship at the entrance of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Like- wise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons. Ezek 46.1-3
Passover - In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a calf as sin. Ezekiel 45.21-22
Solemn feasts - Trumpets, Day of Atonement - 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
Tabernacles - In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, he shall offer again in the feast of the seven days, the sin, the burnt offering, the present, and the oil. Ezek 45.25
When the Lord comes to this temple He will enter through the east gate (Ezek 44.2-3) and then it will be shut. David will worship at this gate and eat bread before Yahweh and then leave by the same vestibule (Ezek 46.1-15).
DAVID’S LAND INHERITANCE
Ezekiel also gives details of the land inheritance of David the prince. He will inherit all of the land on the east and west sides of the Holy Portion. The Holy Portion is a special district where the Levite priests who are responsible for the care taking of the temple live, the sons of Zadok live, and the city of Jerusalem is located (Ezek 45.1-6). This land David inherits stretches from the west side of the Holy Portion to the Mediterranean Sea. From the east side of the Holy Portion it stretches to the Dead Sea (Ezek 45.7-8).
David is allowed to give some of this land inheritance to any of his servants but is it theirs only until the Year of Jubilee (Liberty) at which time it is returned to the prince. The prince is not allowed to take away anyone’s land inheritance so that: he not defraud them of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession that my people not be scattered each one from his possession. Ezek 46.18
ISRAEL’S LAND INHERITANCE
So shall ye divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who have begotten sons among you; and they shall be unto you as native born among the sons of Israel; they shall have cast lots with you to inherit among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in the tribe in which the stranger sojourns, there shall ye give him his inheritance, said the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 47.21-23
Therefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who were called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh, which is made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus ye who at another time were far off are made near by the blood of the Christ. Ephesians 2.11-13
As you can see by the scriptures above, we are grafted into Israel and inherit a portion of land. We will all be part of a tribe of Israel! How exciting! We will have a portion of inheritance in the land of Israel and be a part of one of the twelve tribes. All this information is found in Ezekiel 45.1-8; 47.13-48.35. These boundaries are almost exactly the same as the Lord spoke to Moses in Numbers 34.1-12.
SUMMARY
When Solomon completed the Lord's temple (2 Chronicles 2:4) he declared that it was for the purpose to:
1) burn sweet incense to the Lord, 2) put continual showbread before the Lord, 3) offer the morning and evening sacrifices, and to 4) celebrate the Sabbaths, new moons and appointed Feasts.
The Scripture then proceeds to declare, "this is an ordinance FOREVER to Israel." Ecclesiastes 3:14 says: "I know that whatever God does, it shall be FOREVER, nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him."
Yahweh’s ultimate temple is Mankind. All other temples, including the Millennial Temple, are a shadow of redeemed mankind being God’s temple. The 1000 year millennium will be an age of discipleship and learning the ways of the Kingdom of God. We will be learning the ways of the Kingdom from Yeshua Himself and we will be teachers to the nations along with Him. Mankind will learn that the “arm of the flesh” cannot save us, that only faith in the finished work of the cross of Yeshua Ha Mashiach can save us.
The Millennial Temple will serve the same purpose the temples in the past were created for--teaching the nations that the true temple is not made with hands and that no flesh shall glory in Yahweh’s presence. It’s purpose will be to teach us and the nations what it really means to be “God’s dwelling place.”
At the end of the Millennial Kingdom the things which we have learned will taught to the Universe! Yes, we will be sent out to teach the new creations throughout the Universe the righteousness and graciousness of our Creator God.
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