Remember Our Artist S Rendition from Last Week

Sacred Space August 16, 2013 The Temple Complex Ezekiel 41 & 42 Page 1

We have reached the section of Ezekiel where he is being given a tour of the Millennial Temple. This is the temple that Jesus Christ will rule and reign from and in fact, it is the pre-incarnate Christ who is providing the tour. Remember our artist’s rendition from last week.

The last two verses of chapter 40 brought us into porch or vestibule (ʾulām) of the Temple. This is after having completed the measurement of the courtyard. We saw last week that the courtyard is 34 feet wide and about 20 feet long. The doorway itself to enter this area is about 24 feet. Page 2

Ezekiel 40:48–49 “And he led me into the Elam of the house. And he measured the doorpost of the Elam: five cubits in width on the one side and five cubits on the other side, and the width of the doorway fourteen cubits, and the side walls of the door of the Elam three cubits on the one side and three cubits on the other side, and the length of the Elam was twenty cubits, and the width twelve cubits, and they would ascend it on ten steps. And there were pillars upon the Elam, one on the one side and one on the other side.” (LES) Page 3 As we see from the LXX, we obtain the number of steps as 10. Each stage provides a continuing climb, 7 steps, 8 steps, and now 10 steps.

7 - It is made up of the sum of 3+4=7. That is of the Divine number and the World number. It is more frequently used in the Scriptures than any other numeral. It stands for the Seventh Day of the “Creative Week,” and speaks of the Millennial Rest Day. Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, or “God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages” (Philadelphia, PA: Clarence Larkin, 1918), 182.

8 - The Eighth Day is the beginning of a New Week. The Jewish Sabbath was on the last or Seventh Day of the week, Jesus rose on the First day of a new week or the Eighth day. His Resurrection introduced a New Order of Things, the Christian Sabbath and the “New Creation,” or Regeneration of the Soul, and points to the New Heaven and the New Earth, which will be the Eighth Dispensation, following the Seventh or Millennial Dispensation. Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, or “God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages“ (Philadelphia, PA: Clarence Larkin, 1918), 183.

10 - The Number of “Worldly Completion.” It is made up of the sum of the World number 4 and 6 the Number of Man. It is probably based on the decimal system, suggested by the 10 digits of hands or feet. It was looked upon as a complete number, and was used as such in the Ten Commandments. Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, or “God’s Plan and Purpose in the Ages” (Philadelphia, PA: Clarence Larkin, 1918), 183.

Ezekiel 41:1–2 “Then he brought me to the nave and measured the side pillars; six cubits wide on each side was the width of the side pillar. The width of the entrance was ten cubits and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on each side. And he measured the length of the nave, forty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits.” (NASB95)

In the Hebrew, Ezekiel is brought to the hekal This is only the third time Ezekiel has used this term using it twice in 8:16 when he was in the temple of Solomon.

;heykal /hay·kawl/] n m. Probably from 3201 (in the sense of capacity); TWOT 493; GK 2121] יהיכלל 80 occurrences; AV translates as “temple” 70 times, and “palace” 10 times. 1 palace, temple, nave, sanctuary. 1A palace. 1B temple (palace of God as king). 1C hall, nave (of Ezekiel’s temple). 1D temple (of heavenly temple). James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995). temple n., a building considered as the house or dwelling place of a deity where the deity could be worshiped nave n., a main area within a building complex palace n., a large and stately residence affiliated with governing authorities or royalty The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

As you can tell by the terms now being used in the Hebrew, we are entering sacred space, space to be occupied by God. We have reviewed the security for this space, how there are only three entrances from the outside and then only three inside, all with security capabilities to prevent the non-sacred from entering sacred space. Page 4 Paul picks up on this discussion in 1 Corinthians 6:

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (NASB95)

Do we set up security to protect the sacred space that exists due to the fact the Holy Spirit resides within us? Do we take the same measures as the builder of the temple does to ensure the non-sacred does not enter into sacred space?

Titus 3:5 – 7 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (NASB95)

Hebrews 9:6–15 “Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (NASB95)

Jesus is the reason we are now considered to be sacred space. Nothing can separate us from Him as a result of His work on the Cross for us. Do we place the same level of security around us as He will in the future? We have access, but who else has access to us? That is why we cannot make any potential foothold for the devil.

Ephesians 4:25–30 “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (NASB95)

We are not to give the devil an opportunity, when we do, we grieve the Holy Spirit. He is still there, He promises never to leave, but we have caused physical pain to the God of the Universe and until we repent, there is not much He can do with us. Page 5 1 John 1:8–9 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NASB95)

When used of the Israelite sanctuary, hêkāl highlights the building’s role as the palace of Yahweh. In this context the term denotes not the temple as a whole but the great hall, the nave between the vestibule and the holy of holies. According to the guide’s measurements, the jambs (ʾulām) of the entryway to the hêkāl were 6 cubits wide (about 10 ft.), even larger than the 5-cubit jambs of the ʾulām (40:48). The doorway was 10 cubits (about 17 ft.) wide. The great hall itself was a perfectly proportioned rectangle, 40 cubits (about 68 ft.) long and 20 cubits (about 34 ft.) wide. Since entrance was gained at the narrow end, this room is classified as a “long room.” The absence of any reference to its decoration, furnishings, or function reflects the primary rhetorical concern to define sacred space, not to provide a blueprint for a construction project. Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–), 543.

Ezekiel 41:3–4 “Then he went inside and measured each side pillar of the doorway, two cubits, and the doorway, six cubits high; and the width of the doorway, seven cubits. He measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the nave; and he said to me, “This is the most holy place.”” (NASB95)

Ezekiel was a priest, he knows the lay of the land as it pertains to the Temple. Notice he does not follow his guide into the Most Holy Place. He knows he cannot enter into that space that is the abode of the Most High. Ezekiel stands at the door and makes note of what he sees his guide doing and notates the measurements being taken. Ezekiel is told this is the Holy of Holies (LXX) I think he already knows this.

The prophet is escorted through the first two rooms, but not invited into the inner sanctum. (5) The guide verbally announces the name of the inner sanctum: qōdeš haqqŏdāšîm, “the most holy place of all.” Like the seraphim in Isa. 6:1–2, the threefold division of the temple proclaims Yahweh as the thrice holy one. Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on The Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–), 544.

Ezekiel 41:5–12 “Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits; and the width of the side chambers, four cubits, all around about the house on every side. The side chambers were in three stories, one above another, and thirty in each story; and the side chambers extended to the wall which stood on their inward side all around, that they might be fastened, and not be fastened into the wall of the temple itself. The side chambers surrounding the temple were wider at each successive story. Because the structure surrounding the temple went upward by stages on all sides of the temple, therefore the width of the temple increased as it went higher; and thus one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the second story. I saw also that the house had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers were a full rod of six long cubits in height. The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. But the free space between the side chambers belonging to the temple and the outer chambers was twenty cubits in width all around the temple on every side. The doorways of the side chambers toward the free space consisted of one doorway toward the north and another doorway toward the south; and the width of the free space was five cubits all around. The building that was in front of the separate area at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length was ninety cubits.” (NASB95) Page 6

Now we move to the side chambers.

Things That Are Missing Veil – Jesus Christ paid the price and the wall of division has been removed.

Matthew 27:51 “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.” (NASB95)

Table of showbread – the Bread of Life will be there in person

Golden candle stand – God’s glory will fill the entire planet I also suspect that since there is no longer any need for the Ark of the Covenant and the seraphim guarding the mercy seat on top, the throne, the actual throne, will be there with real seraphim providing protection.

The temple is flanked by a building on the north and by one on the south (42:1–14)—These buildings are used by the temple’s officiating priests as storage rooms, as dining rooms, and as eating rooms. Roy E. Gingrich, The Book of Ezekiel (Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing, 2005), 55.

They appear to be three stories tall. Also, there may be access to the roof as well. The chambers are adjacent to, but not physically attached to the Holy Place. In verse 12, we also learn there is a building behind all of this towards the western wall.

Only the barest details concerning this nondescript edifice are given: (1) It was located west of the temple building. (2) It was separated from the temple by a gizrâ, “restricted space.” (3) Its walls were 5 cubits thick (about 8.5 ft.), like the side chambers. (4) The building was imposing for its size. Internally it measured 90 cubits long by 70 cubits wide (about 150 ft. by 120 ft.), which means that its external dimensions were 100 by 80 cubits, exceeding the area of the temple itself! Again nothing is said of its function, but its presence here represents an intentional reaction to excesses of the Judean monarchy, whose claims for space tended to encroach upon sacred temple territory. Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–), 552–553.

In reality, we have no idea what the building is for.

Ezekiel 41:13–20 “Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; the separate area with the building and its walls were also a hundred cubits long. Also the width of the front of the temple and that of the separate areas along the east side totaled a hundred cubits. He measured the length of the building along the front of the separate area behind it, with a gallery on each side, a hundred cubits; he also measured the inner nave and the porches of the court. The thresholds, the latticed windows and the galleries round about their three stories, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, and from the ground to the windows (but the windows were covered), over the entrance, and to the inner house, and on the outside, and on all the wall all around inside and outside, by measurement. It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, a man’s face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion’s face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave.” (NASB95) Page 7

Ezekiel’s guide next measured the outside walls of the main temple structure. It was 100 cubits (166 feet) from front to back. The distance from the back of the main temple structure to the back of the building behind the temple, including an open space of 20 cubits that separated the two structures, was also 100 cubits. The inner court in front of the temple proper was also 100 cubits square. Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Eze 41:13.

We also get some detail about the facilities to the north and the south which are for the Levites. All paneled with wood and coverings over the windows. This paneling also extended to the interior of the holy place as well.

According to vv. 17b–20, from the floor to ceiling (v. 20), all over the entire temple the walls were decorated with beautiful carvings of cherubim and palm trees, motifs obviously borrowed from Solomon’s temple (1 K. 6:29–36). Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–), 558.

1 Kings 6:29 “Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inner and outer sanctuaries.” (NASB95)

Cherubim appear several places in Scripture and are always guardians of the holiness of God. They were there specifically to remind the priests not to enter the holy of holies. Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, vol. 17, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 368.

The meaning of the palm tree and its use in the sanctuary is associated with the covenant of peace expressed in 34:25 and 37:26. Elsewhere in Scripture the palm tree symbolized righteousness (Ps 92:12) and longevity (vv. 18–20). Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, vol. 17, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 368.

Ezekiel 41:21–26 “The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.” The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. There were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds.” (NASB95)

There is an altar of wood referenced in verse 22. Conjecture runs the gamut of it being for showbread all the way through it being an altar of incense or remembrance before the Lord. It is an altar of wood. We also see that there are doors and the same carved pattern reflects on them as well. Page 8 Ezekiel 42:1–13 “Then he brought me out into the outer court, the way toward the north; and he brought me to the chamber which was opposite the separate area and opposite the building toward the north. Along the length, which was a hundred cubits, was the north door; the width was fifty cubits. Opposite the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and opposite the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery corresponding to gallery in three stories. Before the chambers was an inner walk ten cubits wide, a way of one hundred cubits; and their openings were on the north. Now the upper chambers were smaller because the galleries took more space away from them than from the lower and middle ones in the building. For they were in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground upward, more than the lower and middle ones. As for the outer wall by the side of the chambers, toward the outer court facing the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. For the length of the chambers which were in the outer court was fifty cubits; and behold, the length of those facing the temple was a hundred cubits. Below these chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one enters them from the outer court. In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, facing the separate area and facing the building, there were chambers. The way in front of them was like the appearance of the chambers which were on the north, according to their length so was their width, and all their exits were both according to their arrangements and openings. Corresponding to the openings of the chambers which were toward the south was an opening at the head of the way, the way in front of the wall toward the east, as one enters them. Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, they are the holy chambers where the priests who are near to the LORD shall eat the most holy things. There they shall lay the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; for the place is holy.” (NASB95)

Ezekiel’s guide next took him out the north inner gate into the outer court and showed him another building. It stood between the “separate area,” the 20-cubit space that bordered the temple proper, and “the building toward the north,” evidently the complex of rooms in the outer court that stood against the north wall of the temple complex. The length of this building, east to west, was 100 cubits, and its width, north to south, was 50 cubits. This structure had a door on its north side. Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Eze 42:1.

We also get detail about the building on the north and south side of the Holy Place. Again, the emphasis is on the simple fact that this is sacred space. As such, even those garments being worn in front of the Lord are to be treated differently than those worn for other activities.

Ezekiel 42:14 “When the priests enter, then they shall not go out into the outer court from the sanctuary without laying there their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they shall approach that which is for the people.” (NASB95)

This area is explicitly reserved for those priests who have access to YHWH. The offerings are kept there as are their clothing.

The burden of the present account is to show that the holiness of sacred space extends beyond the concentric design of the temple complex to the form of the auxiliary structures and the conduct of humans within those structures. Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–), 568. Page 9 Ezekiel 42:15–20 “Now when he had finished measuring the inner house, he brought me out by the way of the gate which faced toward the east and measured it all around. He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds by the measuring reed. He measured on the north side five hundred reeds by the measuring reed. On the south side he measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. He turned to the west side and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. He measured it on the four sides; it had a wall all around, the length five hundred and the width five hundred, to divide between the holy and the profane.” (NASB95)

The inside tour has been completed. So now the perimeter of the Temple complex will be measured. The guide takes Ezekiel outside the complex through the east gate to do this.

According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.3, §400), Herod’s temple acropolis had a perimeter of 4 stades, each side being one stade long. Archeological explorations have confirmed that the postexilic temple acropolis, constructed over the ruins of the preexilic acropolis, was designed after this ideal model. The present-day platform of the temple mount consists of a square 262.5 m. per side, which computes remarkably to 500 cubits per side (assuming Ezekiel employs the great cubit of 525 mm.). My thanks to Randall Younker for drawing my attention to this detail and to the discussion by B. Mazar, “The Temple Mount,” in Biblical Archaeology Today: Proceedings of the International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem, April 1984, ed. J. Amitai (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1985), pp. 465–66. Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997–).

The entire area was much too large for Mount Moriah where Solomon’s and Zerubbabel’s temples stood. The scheme requires a great change in the topography of the land which will occur as indicated in Zechariah 14:9–11, the very time which Ezekiel had in view. Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel (Eugene, OR, Wipf and Stock Publishers 2003) p. 249 The man measured the wall with his measuring reed. The wall around the temple area separated what was holy inside from what was common outside. Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Eze 42:15.

For according to this, the space which was measured toward every quarter at five hundred rods had a boundary wall, which was five hundred rods long on every side. This gives an area of 250,000 square rods; whereas the temple, with the inner and outer courts, covered only a square of five hundred cubits in length and breadth, or 250,000 square cubits. It is evident from this that the measuring related in vv. 15–20 does not refer to the space occupied by the temple and its courts, and therefore that the wall which the measured space had around it (v. 20) cannot be the wall of the outer court mentioned in Ezek. 40:5, the sides of which were not more than five hundred cubits long. The meaning is rather, that around this wall, which enclosed the temple and its courts, a further space of five hundred rods in length and breadth was measured off “to separate between the holy and profane,” i.e., a space which was intended to form a separating domain between the sanctuary and the common land. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 9 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 391.

Now recall we identified that the rod was 10.25 feet in length last week. The complex is 500 x 500 rods. That puts it at 5125 feet per side. Just under one mile per side. One mile = 5280 feet The Temple complex is about one square mile in size. Or 26,265,625 square feet – 640 acres All of this to create sacred space and then keep it separate. Page 10

Remember, God will be changing the entire area around Jerusalem and specifically around the Temple Mount.

Zechariah 14:4–11 “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.” (NASB95)

Ezekiel was an eyewitness to the departure of the Holy Spirit from the Temple.

Ezekiel 10:18–19 “Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.” (NASB95)

Ezekiel 11:22–23 “Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city.” (NASB95)

Next Week: Ezekiel sees the glory of God return