There are seven significant sanctuaries referred to in Holy Scripture: of these, one each was erected by Moses, Solomon, Ezra, and Herod1 respectively, and were material structures of wood or stone. The fifth is the Christian Church, now growing into a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:21); all agree that this latter is wholly spiritual.
The sixth is described as a house of prayer for all nations and, for convenience, we may call it the temple of Isaiah (Isa. 56:7 and 2:2, etc.). It is often assumed that this will be built during our Lord’s millennial reign from Jerusalem. The details given are few and fragmentary. We cannot state with certainty whether this will be a material shrine like Herod’s, or simply a center of spiritual light and influence in the world to come. This question can be discussed without acrimony and with affection.
It is many years since I first interested myself in the seventh and last of these buildings, the vision-temple of Ezekiel. I knew that my Father was “the God of measure” (2 Cor. 10:13) and that the dimensions of that shrine were revealed to the prophet so that the whole House of Israel might be ashamed of their iniquities (Ezek. 43:10-12). I further found that the entire vision was a glorious parable of the possibilities of a life of communion with God.
The tabernacle of Moses was a gospel sermon revealing the way to God. The temple of Solomon was a textbook, teaching the way of public worship of God. But Ezekiel’s vision crowned the series by opening the secrets of a life of holiness. We might well ask the question: “Are we to understand that the vision-temple seen by Ezekiel will be built as a material structure, and that its sacrificial system will be carried out at some time in the future?” My reply is an unhesitating negative and this for the following reasons.
A. The vision of Ezekiel stands in sharp contrast with Isaiah’s temple: the latter will be built at Jerusalem (Ps. 68:29); the site given by Ezekiel lies in Samaria. A large map of Israel, a ruler, and a Bible open at Ezekiel 48 will show this in five minutes; the measurements are drawn from “the entering in of Hamath” in the north to “the brook of Egypt” in the south, a distance of 160 miles. The seven northern tribes named in the vision cover the ancient Kingdom of Israel, the five in the south occupy the realm of Judah. In the center, the holy oblation and the House fill what was once the province of Samaria.
B. The temple of Isaiah will be catholic and non-sectarian, offering a welcome to all nations; the Egyptian will be as much at home as the Israelite (Isa. 19:21). Ezekiel excludes all who are uncircumcised in heart and flesh and also all visitors or foreigners in the Land of Israel; this latter seems to be qualified in the case of aliens who “shall beget children” among you (Ezek. 44:7-8; 47:22).
C. The priests and Levites ministering in the temple of Isaiah are brought on horseback or in litters to the House of the Lord and are drawn from every nation (Isa. 66:20-21).
The priesthood in Ezekiel’s temple excludes the sons of Levi or the family of Aaron (and, of course, all aliens): the only celebrants permitted must spring from an unknown stock known as the sons of Zadok; we are not told to which of the six different Zadoks this refers (see Ezek. 40:46; 43:19, etc.).
Since the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, all the genealogical lists, whether of Levites or of laymen, have been lost; I can say nothing as to the possibility of the recovery of any particular line. The Lord will not withhold light as to the spiritual meaning of this chosen family of priests.
D. Isaiah has left no details as to dimensions or materials for his temple. Ezekiel has left innumerable measurements but there are formidable difficulties in the way of making any literal use of them in dealing with the measurements of the land of Israel. He gives figures such as 5,000 or 25,000, etc., but does not tell us whether these refer to cubits, reeds, or other measures (Ezek. 48:8-22).
Furthermore, in the earlier shrines, the measurements of Moses, etc., are precise; in each case, length, breadth, and height are given, but Ezekiel’s heavenly guide is silent as to any vertical measures: the two exceptions in 40:5 and 41:22 do not affect this statement.
My well-loved and scholarly friend, the late Mr. Newberry of Weston, like Alexander the Great, cut the Gordian Knot by transferring all the missing measurements from those of Solomon’s temple!
E. The Vision-temple services establish an intricate system of animal sacrifices in which the blood and the fat of rams and goats are offered in atonement. It has been widely stated, more ingeniously than ingenuously, that these sacrifices are not atoning but commemorative. I am afraid that such a statement could only be made by one who had never read the relevant chapters with any care! Positively, the voice of the Holy Spirit assures us, five times over, that the Ezekiel sacrifices are for atonement and for nothing else; negatively, there is no hint that they have a memorial character at all.
F. At the time of the vision, Ezekiel was a middle-aged man and we are distinctly told that he himself was to provide and to present the sacrifices (43:19-25); this limits any literal fulfilment to a period of about sixty years from the date given in Ezekiel 40:1; we cannot imagine a Methusaleh-like extension of the life of the seer.
Shortly after the return from Babylon, Ezra and his companions did erect a small plain house of prayer in Jerusalem, made of three rows of hewn stones and one row of new timber; in this humble sanctuary animal sacrifices were offered and accepted; at the dedication of this temple, the fathers of Israel burst into tears as they remembered the splendors of Solomon’s day (see Ezra 3:12 and 6:3-4).
It may well be that this is the only literal fulfilment of the prophecy. If the objection be raised that there is little likeness between the shadowy vision of Ezekiel the seer and the simple structure of Ezra the priest, I fully agree, but this offers little difficulty. Many years ago, I saw, as in a vision, a temple for God exceeding magnifical; it was that of my own life, yielded as far as I knew to the will of God, yet as I look at the fruit of my life I can only see but a mean shepherd’s hut.
If it be asked why the vehicle of a vision was chosen, I reply that this is quite common in Scripture; when the inspiring Spirit would describe events impossible in real life, using them to teach spiritual truths, He resorts to this channel of revelation.
The dreams recorded in the life of Joseph are of this nature; Pharaoh saw seven fat kine swallowed by seven lean ones and yet the latter got no fatter. In a world ruled by the laws of space or of mathematics, such a narrative would be an affront to the intelligence. Yet this is true in the region of the Spirit, where we perceive that we live in a world where evil still preys upon good and yet wins no gain for itself.
In the absence of any express statement of Scripture, I cannot believe in two future Millennial temples based on diametrically opposite spiritual principles and existing in Israel at the same time; I cannot accept a revival of animal atoning sacrifices in the future, because the author of the Hebrews has shown that the one solitary, sufficient and unique offering made at Calvary can never be repeated.
I would urge my readers, or at least those who are skillful in the Word of Righteousness, to ponder the law of Ezekiel’s house, to offer its spiritual sacrifices and to bathe daily in its river.
That river is still the symbol of the grace and power of God.
“Bearing life and healing and rejoicing
Through the desert lone,
For those Waters of the life eternal
Issued from the Throne.”