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| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Ezekiel 40-41
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There's going to be a new temple (Ezekiel 40-41)
This prophecy was issued by Ezekiel in 573 B.C. according to Ezekiel 40:1 and covers the rest of the book. Jerusalem had fallen 13 years before this time. These remaining chapters in Ezekiel are dedicated to the millennium temple and worship. There are several points we'll want to make concerning this new temple, but we'll just refrain from covering them all right now and wait until we come to them in the following chapters. I should point out, however, that this temple will be built for the millennium; it will not be the temple that is defiled by the Beast (aka Antichrist) of Revelation 13:1-10 (see notes) during the tribulation. Therefore, at least two temples are in Israel's future - one for the Beast to defile and another for the millennium, built to Ezekiel's specifications.
Let's take a look at the temples that are found in the Bible:
Here we see the dimensions of the outer court and the inner court of the millennium temple. The temple built for the tribulation may be built before the tribulation begins or perhaps during the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation; it will be accomplished strictly by human effort. The millennium temple will be the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy from God - built to exact specifications. Hang on for two chapters of temple measurements! Actually, we'll be continuing our measurements into Ezekiel 42-43 (see notes).
Let's meet the man with the measuring stick (Ezekiel 40:1-4)
1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was captured, on the very same day the hand of the LORD was upon me; and He took me there.
2 In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city.
3 He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.
4 ¶ And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”
So, who is Ezekiel's host in this passage? He says in verse 1, "...the hand of the LORD was upon me..." We get a hint that Ezekiel sees God in the form of man here, but when we get over to chapter 44, any doubt is erased in Ezekiel 44: 2, 5 (see notes). God himself (not an angel) is giving Ezekiel this tour.
Ezekiel's Millennial Temple will not be built on the existing Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Instead, according to Ezekiel 40:2, it will be built on "a very high mountain." Obviously the cataclysmic events of the end of the tribulation will alter the terrain making such a spot available for the building of this massive structure. Incidentally, Ezekiel's Temple is too large to fit onto the existing terrain. This temple is part of a scheme of transformed land, partitioned in parallel tracts among the restored 12 tribes as seen in Ezekiel 47:13-48:29 (see notes); the temple rests in a large area in the center, and it stretches across the whole country, dedicated to Jehovah and His service (Ezekiel 48:8-22, see notes).
Now to the actual measurements (Ezekiel 40:5-49)
5 Now there was a wall all around the outside of the temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.
6 ¶ Then he went to the gateway which faced east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide.
7 Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod.
8 He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod.
9 Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside.
10 In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.
11 ¶ He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
12 There was a space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side.
13 Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door.
14 He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost.
15 From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits.
16 There were beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were palm trees.
17 ¶ Then he brought me into the outer court; and there were chambers and a pavement made all around the court; thirty chambers faced the pavement.
18 The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement.
19 Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.
20 ¶ On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width.
21 Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
22 Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees, had the same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archway was in front of it.
23 A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway; and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.
24 ¶ After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements.
25 There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
26 Seven steps led up to it, and its archway was in front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side.
27 There was also a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.
28 ¶ Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements.
29 Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
30 There were archways all around, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide.
31 Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.
32 ¶ And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements.
33 Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; and there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
34 Its archways faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to it were eight steps.
35 ¶ Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements—
36 also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits.
37 Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to it were eight steps.
38 ¶ There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they washed the burnt offering.
39 In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering.
40 At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables.
41 Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices.
42 There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
43 Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.
44 ¶ Outside the inner gate were the chambers for the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the southern gateway.
45 Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for the priests who have charge of the temple.
46 The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him.”
47 ¶ And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple.
48 Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side.
49 The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.
The dimensions of this temple are given in cubits, or more specifically, "a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth" (verse 5).
Following is the definition of a "cubit" taken from Easton's Bible Dictionary:
Cubit: Heb. ‘ammah; i.e., “mother of the arm,” the fore-arm, is a word derived from the Latin cubitus, the lower arm. It is difficult to determine the exact length of this measure, from the uncertainty whether it included the entire length from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger, or only from the elbow to the root of the hand at the wrist. The probability is that the longer was the original cubit. The common computation as to the length of the cubit makes it 20.24 inches for the ordinary cubit, and 21.888 inches for the sacred one. This is the same as the Egyptian measurements.
Assuming the sacred cubit (since we're talking about a temple here), the rod would be a little over 11 feet long. Many computations for Ezekiel's temple are based upon a rod of 10.5 feet long, and cubits ranging in length between 20 to 22 inches. Therefore, you may see a variance of 10% or so in the dimensions of this temple by scholars who have gone the extra mile with their meticulous computations.
And more measurements (Ezekiel 41)
1 Then he brought me into the sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle.
2 The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.
3 ¶ Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits.
4 He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
5 ¶ Next, he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side.
6 The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but not fastened to the wall of the temple.
7 As one went up from story to story, the side chambers became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one.
8 I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, a full rod, that is, six cubits high.
9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the temple.
10 And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side.
11 The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.
12 ¶ The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
13 ¶ So he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long;
14 also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits.
15 He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner temple and the porches of the court,
16 their doorposts and the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered—
17 from the space above the door, even to the inner room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.
18 ¶ And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
19 so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around.
20 From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.
21 ¶ The doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar.
22 The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is the table that is before the LORD.”
23 ¶ The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.
24 The doors had two panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door.
25 Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside.
26 There were beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies.
Ezekiel's measurements here are quite thorough. You may find it interesting to compare these measurements with those found for Solomon's Temple in I Kings 6:1-38; II Chronicles 3:1-17 (see notes).