VISION
OF GOD
Lesson 1

SIN &
PUNISHMENT
Lesson 2  (2:1-3:15)
Lesson 3  (3:15 - 3:27)
Lesson 4  (4 - 6)
Lesson 5  (7)
Lesson 6  (8)
Lesson 7  (9-10)
Lesson 8  (11)
Lesson 9  (12)
Lesson 10  (13)
 Lesson 11  (14)
Lesson 12  (15)
Lesson 13  (16)
Lesson 14  (17)
Lesson 15  (18)
Lesson 16  (19-20)
Lesson 17  (21)
Lesson 18  (22-23)
Lesson 19  (23)
Lesson 20  (24)

JUDGMENT
OF NATIONS
Lesson 21  (25)
Lesson 22  (26-28)
Lesson 23  (29-30)
Lesson 24  (31-32)

FALL OF JERUSALEM
 Lesson 25  (33)
 Lesson 26  (34)
Lesson 27  (35)

MESSIANIC
HOPE
 Lesson 28  (36)
Lesson 29  (37)

THE NATIONS
AGAINST
GOD'S PEOPLE
 Lesson 30  (38-39)


MESSIANIC
TEMPLE IN THE HOLY CITY
 Lesson 31  (40-48)
 Lesson 32  (40-48)
 Lesson 33  (40-48)

Ezekiel

Lesson 31
FALL OF JERUSALEM
Read: Ezekiel 40-48		     Chronology
INTRODUCTION
  1. Do the last 9 chapters (chapters 40-48) of Ezekiel describe one vision which Ezekiel saw on one occasion, or several visions that appeared to him on different occasions?
     
  2. The hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel in what year, measured from "our exile" or "our captivity"? What year did the exile begin in terms of the modern calendar (i.e., what year "B.C."?), and therefore what year was it that the hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel in terms of the modern calendar?
     
  3. What year was it as measured from the taking of the city? What year was the city taken in terms of our calendar?
     
  4. When brought in a vision of God into the land of Israel, exactly what did Ezekiel say he saw to the south?
     
  5. The city is mentioned several times in the last 9 chapters of Ezekiel, most especially in chapter 48 (40:2, 45:6, 45:7, 48:15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, 35). Is it ever called "Jerusalem" in these chapters?
     
  6. Consider Ezekiel 44:1-14. If the descriptions are literal rather than figurative and symbolic, can this passage be understood as a description of the church which is the temple of the Lord? Note verse 9 and compare Eph. 2:11-22.
     
  7. Again considering Ezekiel 44:1-14, if the descriptions are literal rather than figurative and symbolic, can the city and temple herein described be identified with the city and temple described in Revelation 21?  Note Ezek. 44: 10-14 and especially compare Ezek. 44:10 and 44:12 with Rev. 21:8.
     

In these chapters, Ezekiel sees a man measuring the court of a temple, including its gates, chambers, etc., the temple itself, and the altar. The man describes the temple service, the city, and the arrangement around the city of the allotments of land to the tribes. The man also shows Ezekiel a life-giving river flowing out from under the temple.

There are three basic points I want you to see as we study Ezekiel 40-48: (1) The Lord in His Temple, (2) The nature of the description of the Temple and the City, and (3) Some points of similarity between Ezekiel 40-48 and Revelation 21-22.

As we work through the next few lessons, we will try to develop our understanding of the significance of the temple Ezekiel sees and answer the question, is it a literal temple that had been built or was to be built, or yet remains to be built, or is it a symbol for some spiritually realized truth. And if the latter, when was it or will it be realized?

THE LORD IN HIS TEMPLE
The vision portrays "God with us," in contrast to the departure of the Lord from his temple that had been described in Ezekiel 8-11.

At this point, let's revise the way we think of the structure of Ezekiel. We may consider the first 11 chapters to be an extended discussion of the Lord's departure from Jerusalem. After describing the vision of the Lord enthroned above His Cherubim (chapter 1), Ezekiel tells of the charge he was given to communicate the things that he saw (chapters 2-3). Chapters 4 through 7 describe the coming desolation to which the Lord is abandoning the city and some of the reasons why. In chapter 8-11, Ezekiel is transported in a vision to the city where he witnesses the abominations (chapter 8), sees the executioners of God's justice (chapter 9), and finally sees the representation of the Lord first introduced in chapter 1 as it departs from the temple (chapter 10) and from the city (chapter 11).

But in Ezekiel 43, we read that Ezekiel again saw "the glory of the God of Israel" as he had previously seen "by the river Chebar." This time however, the glory of the Lord "______  _______ the house" (Ezek. 43:4) and "________  the house" (Ezek. 43:5).

In this way then, the last nine chapters may be considered the antithesis to the first eleven chapters.

Chapters  

Theme
1-11     The Lord's departure from the temple and from Jerusalem
  12-24 The rebellion of that accounts for the Lord's departure
  25-32 Judgement upon the nations
  33-35 Jerusalem's fall
  36-37 Messianic hope
  38-39 The nations against God's people
40-48     The New Jerusalem, The New Temple, and the Lord's return to it.

Thus we see the book of Ezekiel beginning with the Lord's departure from the temple that was soon to be destroyed, and ending with an account of the Lord's return to the ideal temple and holy city.

  1. Remember that when we studied Ezekiel 34, we considered Jer. 3:15 and the Lord's promise to give his people shepherds after His own heart. According to Jeremiah 3:17, at that time what would Jerusalem be called?
     
  2. The Lord had conspicuously removed himself from the temple and from Jerusalem (Ezek. 11:23) prior to the destruction of the city. However, just as Jeremiah looked forward to a future time when Jerusalem would be called "the Throne of the Lord," the name of the city Ezekiel sees is said to be "______________________."
     
  3. As of Ezek. 11:23, could it be said that Jerusalem had been forsaken? And yet what did Isaiah say in Is. 62:12?
     
  4. When would God again dwell in his temple and thus in the midst of his people? (Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Cor. 3:16-17)
     
  5. According to Mt. 2:22-23, quoting from Isaiah, what would the child born of a virgin be called, and what did that name mean?
     
  6. When do you understand the event described in Ezekiel 43:4-5 to be accomplished?
     
  7. What, if any, are the implications of your answer to question number 6 for the temple built by Zerubbabel (6th century B.C.) and substantially rebuilt by Herod? Is this a question of merely theoretical significance, or of practical significance?

 

THE NATURE OF THE DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE AND THE CITY
In all its detail and symmetry, the description is intended to present a picture of perfection.

  1. In Ezek. 40:2, consider the significance of saying, "like" (KJV: "as"). Is this different than the description of what Ezekiel saw in when once previously he was taken in visions of God (Ezek. 8:3)?
     
  2. In Ezekiel 40-48, a detailed description of a temple will be given. Some suppose this is a description of the temple that would be rebuilt by Zerubbabel in Jerusalem. Some suppose this is a description of Herod's temple that stood in Jerusalem when Jesus was on earth. And some suppose this is a description of a spiritual temple. What does the wording of Ezek. 40:2 suggest about the city itself - was it the earthly Jerusalem Ezekiel and the other captives had known? If not, what could it be? See Gal. 5:26, Rev. 21:2.
     
  3. Ezekiel saw a man whose appearance was like "bronze" (KJV: "brass"). With what was bronze (KJV: "brass")  associated in the each of the following sets of scriptures?
    1. Ex. 27:1-6, 38:1-6, 38:8
    2. Dt. 28:22-23
    3. Jdg. 16:21, 1 Sam. 17:5-6, 38, Job 40:15-18, 41:27, Ps. 107:16
    4. Ezek. 1:7, Rev. 1:15
       
  4. For what was the line of flax to be used? (Ezek. 47:3)
     
  5. There were different lengths designated as a cubit. The cubit usually mentioned in the Old Testament was almost 18 inches long. But sometimes "cubit" meant a measure equal to about 20.5 inches. The latter is in view when we are told the man's measuring rod (KJV: "reed") was six cubits long. How does the text inform us that the "long cubit" was in view?
     
  6. In feet, about how thick was the wall? How high?
     
  7. One of the things you want to think about is the detailed nature of Ezekiel's description of the temple he saw. Some see in the details evidence that this must be a description of a literal, yet to be built, temple. Specifically, premillennialists suppose it is a description of the temple to be built "near the end of the present age" (http://www.path-light.com/Ezekiel09b.htm), arguing in particular that "Such specific detail argues for a literal interpretation of the text." What other purpose could all the detail serve other than to indicate this will be a literal temple?
     
  8. To whom is Ezekiel to relate the description of the temple, and for what purpose? (Ezek. 43:10-12)
     
  9. In chapter 40, how many times do you see the phrase, "according to those same measurements"  (KJV: "according to these measures")?
     
  10. Both the thickness and the height of the wall in verse 5 were how many rods?
     
  11. The threshold in verse 5 was how many rods wide?
     
  12. The guardroom (KJV: "little chamber") in verse 7 was how many rods long and how many rods wide?
     
  13. What was the measure of the porch of the gate, according to verse 8?
     
  14. What does Ezek. 40:47 tell us about the court?
  15. Consider again the description of the glory of the Lord given in chapter 1. Were all those details intended to make it possible for us to know exactly what the Lord and his throne really look like, or were those details designed to create an impression, to bring to mind certain things we associate with the particulars that were mentioned. For example, the eyes in the rims of the wheels - what was the point of that?  Can the same principle be applied to our study of Ezekiel 40-48?
     

SOME POINTS OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN EZEKIEL 40-48 AND REVELATION 21-22.

  1. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 40:2 and and that of Rev. 21:10?
     
  2. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 40:3,5 and that of Rev. 21:15?
     
  3. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 47:1 and that of Rev. 22:1?
     
  4. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 47:12 and that of Rev. 22:2, 14, 19?
     
  5. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 48:16-17 and that of Rev. 21:16-17?
     
  6. What similarities do you see in the language of Ezek. 48:30-35 and that of Rev. 21:12-13?