Ezekiel 40

CHAPTERS 4048THEME: Description of the millennial temple, worship in the millennial temple; return of the glory of the LordIn this concluding section of the Book of Ezekiel we find a description of the millennial temple, the worship of the millennial temple, and a vision concerning the land.

Ezekiel 40:1

THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLEChapters 40-42 contain a description of the millennial temple. Now since this is the millennial temple, I expect to see it and maybe go into it, but I don’t intend to worship there. The temple will be here on this earth, but I am going to be in the place which is described in Revelation 21the New Jerusalem. That will be the address of the believer for eternity. If you want to give someone your address as a believer for eternity, I don’t know what street you will be on (I hope I’m on Glory Blvd.), but I do know the cityit will be the New Jerusalem. One thing that John tells us about this city is, “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Rev_21:22).

Therefore the church is going to be in a place where there won’t be a temple; we won’t need one, but the earth will have one for the duration of the Millennium at least. I rather like the fact that we won’t have a temple because, very candidly, I have never gone in much for ritual. I’m going to be delighted to be up there with the Lord God and the Lamb as the temple of the New Jerusalem. We will be with them, and I cannot even conceive how wonderful that is going to be. We have seen a certain progress and development in the Book of Ezekiel: after the enemy is put down, Israel enters the Millennium, and there will be a temple here on this earth. We are talking about the earth, and that means we are talking about Israel and the gentile nations which will be saved. The church of Christ is up yonder with Him in the New Jerusalem at this time. Jerusalem has been destroyed and the temple is burned, but Ezekiel is to be shown now the temple that will be in that city during the millennial Kingdom.

Ezekiel 40:2

Every time in Scripture that we find a man with a measuring rodit generally is an angel, and it is an angel hereit means that God is getting ready to move again in dealing with His earthly people. We find this again in the minor prophets and in the Book of Revelation.

Ezekiel 40:4

It is my personal feeling that Ezekiel was brought literally to Jerusalem and shown there a vision of the millennial temple of the future.

Ezekiel 40:5

Beginning with verse Eze_40:5 and continuing through these chapters we are given a great deal of detailed information concerning the temple which I will not go into. Its environs are given to us, and it will obviously be a thing of great beauty.

Ezekiel 40:39

In verses Eze_40:39-42 we find that the Mosaic system will be restored with the reinstating of the levitical liturgy and the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.

Ezekiel 40:41

There will be sacrifices offered in the millennial temple. I will discuss this further in chapter 45.

Ezekiel 40:44

There will also be music and singers in the temple.

Ezekiel 40:47

Our attention is again called to the fact that there will be an altar for sacrifices. In the Holy Land Hotel in Jerusalem there is a miniature replica of the city as it was in the days of Herod and the Lord Jesus. Actually it is quite a large model, and as far as I could tell when examining it closely, there is no altar for sacrifice in the temple modelit has been left out. The orthodox Jews are a little embarrassed by an altar, and the liberal Jews want to get rid of it altogether. However, in the millennial temple there will be an altar.