Friday, March 7 – Ezekiel 40, 41

1. When reading these two chapters, what messages can we find both for God’s people and for ourselves individually?

2. How can we connect these prophecies of Ezekiel with those in Revelation?

3. What does this vision tell us about the character and nature of our God?

4. How does this vision disprove the belief of some Christians in a future restoration era for the Jews as God’s chosen people in the end times?

We have now entered the fourth and final section of the book of Ezekiel. The prophet’s central theme revolves around judgment. God not only judges the wicked nations surrounding and attacking Israel but these judgments are also directed at His apostate people. The similarity between Ezekiel’s writing style and that of John in Revelation is striking. I have always considered Ezekiel and Daniel in the Old Testament as representative books of apocalyptic literature, characterized by a great amount of symbolism in their prophetic messages. The precise measurements of the temple’s chambers parallel Revelation 11:1-2, where God’s people are measured (judged) first, followed by the judgment of the Gentiles.

In the previous section (Ezekiel 33:1–39:29), we saw the promise of Israel’s restoration and Ezekiel as a watchman for Israel. This prophecy in chapters 40 and 41 was given to the prophet between September and October of 573 B.C. God provides him with detailed specifications for the reconstruction of the new temple. In verse 2 of this chapter, Ezekiel is taken in vision to the land of Israel. On a high mountain, he beholds a new Jerusalem, described in a manner like John’s vision in Revelation 21:10.

Some people question why so much space and time was devoted to providing such precise details of a renewed temple that ultimately was never realized. It could be said, by way of an explanation, that through this prophecy, God was giving the Israelites a new opportunity to start again. The past would be forgotten and would not be held against them. To convince the people of His future restoration plans, God instructed His prophet to present them with an exact blueprint of the temple that would be rebuilt for worship in the new post-exilic state. Nine chapters of the book are dedicated to the temple and its services, as well as the city of Jerusalem and the division of the land.

Unfortunately, this never became a reality due to the spiritual condition of the people. Once again, we see the experience of “what could have been but was not.” Scholars acknowledge that the various measurements, compartments, and chambers in the new temple are difficult to translate, which is why we find a variety of translations in different versions of the Bible.

When considering this final prophecy in Ezekiel (chapters 40–48), we must be cautious not to interpret it in a strictly literal sense. We can conclude that this vision, although directed at the people of Israel in Babylonian exile, was not literally fulfilled in them but has been and will be fulfilled in a broader and more complete way in Christ and His Church. John, in Revelation, borrowed hundreds of images from the Old Testament, including those from Ezekiel, to transport us to that future kingdom where we will worship God in a more glorious and perfect temple. In fact, Revelation 21:22 states: “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

Another outstanding aspect of this vision is what it reveals about the character and nature of God. He is a God of order and details. He is the God of second chances. If the people of Israel had learned their lesson during exile—had they repented and left their apostasy behind—through this vision, the Lord was showing them His intention to restore them according to His covenant and promises. Now, in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles can be part of the remnant people of the last days.

Let us make plans to be there!