(The previous post covered prophecies focused on the restored temple during the Millennium and that God discontinued the Levites' occupation of ministering to Him. Chapters 45-48 returned to the picture of the restored temple during the Millennium.)
Ezekiel 45
(Verses 1-7: the division of the land in the Millennium.)
1 Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto Jehovah, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the border thereof round about.
(The "holy portion" will be the land allotted for the priests.)
2 Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length by five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about.
(Within the holy portion, there would be a section measuring 875 feet by 875 feet that will be set aside for the temple.)
3 And of this measure shalt thou measure a length of five and twenty thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy.
4 It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, that come near to minister unto Jehovah; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary.
5 And five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, shall be unto the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession unto themselves, for twenty chambers.
6 And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, side by side with the oblation of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.
7 And whatsoever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy oblation and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable unto one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border.
(There will be two sections of land set apart for the prince. The prince here was not Christ but an earthly prince of Israel. The nations will still have earthly leaders.)
8 In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.
(The rest of the land will be divided to the twelve tribes.)
9 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord Jehovah.
10 Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
(The princes of Israel will execute Justice and Righteousness. The cause will be that the princes will be taking direction from God.)
11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer.
12 And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.
(The rest of this chapter covered the offerings.)
13 This is the oblation that ye shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley;
14 and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer;)
15 and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel; -for a meal-offering, and for a burnt-offering, and for peace-offerings, to make atonement for them, saith the Lord Jehovah.
16 All the people of the land shall give unto this oblation for the prince in Israel.
17 And it shall be the prince's part to give the burnt-offerings, and the meal-offerings, and the drink-offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin-offering, and the meal-offering, and the burnt-offering, and the peace-offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.
18 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the first month, in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish; and thou shalt cleanse the sanctuary.
19 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering, and put it upon the door-posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court.
20 And so thou shalt do on the seventh day of the month for every one that erreth, and for him that is simple: so shall ye make atonement for the house.
21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
22 And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin-offering.
23 And the seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt-offering to Jehovah, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a he-goat daily for a sin-offering.
24 And he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
25 In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days; according to the sin-offering, according to the burnt-offering, and according to the meal-offering, and according to the oil.
Ezekiel 46
(This chapter covered the ordinances for public worship.)
1 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
(The gate of the inner court will be opened on every Sabbath and every new moon.)
2 And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
3 And the people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Jehovah on the sabbaths and on the new moons.
(The people of the land will worship at the door in the Sabbaths and the new moons.)
4 And the burnt-offering that the prince shall offer unto Jehovah shall be on the sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish;
5 and the meal-offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal-offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
6 And on the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish:
7 and he shall prepare a meal-offering, an ephah for the bullock, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
(Verses 8-10: the entrances for the prince and people during the feasts.)
8 And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof.
9 But when the people of the land shall come before Jehovah in the appointed feasts, he that entereth by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth straight before him.
10 And the prince, when they go in, shall go in in the midst of them; and when they go forth, they shall go forth together.
(Verses 11-15: the laws of the various offerings.)
11 And in the feasts and in the solemnities the meal-offering shall be an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.
12 And when the prince shall prepare a freewill-offering, a burnt-offering or peace-offerings as a freewill-offering unto Jehovah, one shall open for him the gate that looketh toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he doth on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.
13 And thou shalt prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah daily: morning by morning shalt thou prepare it.
14 And thou shalt prepare a meal-offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal-offering unto Jehovah continually by a perpetual ordinance.
15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal-offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt-offering.
(Verses 16-18: the inheritances.)
16 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.
(This verse showed the prince is not Jesus, but a human who is able to have sons.)
17 But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.
(Year of Liberty - Year of Jubilee.)
(From Leviticus 25 - The most unusual observance that God commanded the Israelites through Moses was the keeping of the year of jubilee. For most people this celebration occurred only once in their lifetime, and for many not even that, as it occurred only once every fifty years. At this year of jubilee all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold reverted to its original owner. This meant that no Israelite could ever be in permanent slavery; nor could any Israelite permanently lose his inheritance.)
18 Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.
19 Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers for the priests, which looked toward the north: and, behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward.
20 And he said unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass-offering and the sin-offering, and where they shall bake the meal-offering; that they bring them not forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people.
(Ezekiel was given a vision of the place where the priests will prepare the offerings.)
21 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and, behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.
22 In the four corners of the court there were courts inclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one measure.
23 And there was a wall round about in them, round about the four, and boiling-places were made under the walls round about.
24 Then said he unto me, These are the boiling-houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people.
Ezekiel 47
(Verses 1-12: the holy waters of the temple, the river of the sanctuary.)
1 And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.
2 Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looketh toward the east; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed.
(The waters from this river will go into the Arabah (Dead Sea) and the waters of the Dead Sea will be repaired.)
9 And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarmeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and everything shall live whithersoever the river cometh.
(Animal life will be abundant because of the quality of this water.)
10 And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof, and the marshes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
(The miry places will not be healed so that they will be a source of salt.)
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not whither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.
(Verses 13-23: the borders and divisions of the land.)
13 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: This shall be the border, whereby ye shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
(The land will be divided into thirteen parts.)
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I sware to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
(Verses 15-17: the northern border.)
15 And this shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, unto the entrance of Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer-hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea, shall be Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.
(Verse 18: the eastern border.)
18 And the east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border unto the east sea shall ye measure. This is the east side.
(Verse 19: the southern border.)
19 And the south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea. This is the south side southward.
(Verse 20: the western border.)
20 And the west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you and to the strangers that sojourn among you, who shall beget children among you; and they shall be unto you as the home-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
(The children born of the "strangers" (non-Jews) will be as Israelites. They will have an inheritance among Israel.)
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord Jehovah.
Ezekiel 48
(Verses 1-8: the borders of Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Judah. These tribes were north of the "holy portion" given to the priests.)
1 Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath, (and they shall have their sides east and west,) Dan, one portion.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, Asher, one portion.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, Naphtali, one portion.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, Manasseh, one portion.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, Ephraim, one portion.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, Reuben, one portion.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, Judah, one portion.
(Verses 8-12: the portion for the priests and the sanctuary.)
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the oblation which ye shall offer, five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto Jehovah shall be five and twenty thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for these, even for the priests, shall be the holy oblation: toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of Jehovah shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, that have kept my charge, that went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And it shall be unto them an oblation from the oblation of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.
(Verses 13-14: the portion for the Levites.)
13 And answerable unto the border of the priests, the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first-fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy unto Jehovah.
15 And the five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the five and twenty thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in the length, answerable unto the holy oblation, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable unto the holy oblation; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that labor in the city.
19 And they that labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall till it.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation four-square, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation and of the possession of the city; in front of the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward in front of the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, answerable unto the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy oblation and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince.
(Verses 23-29: the borders of Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad. These tribes were south of the "holy portion" given to the priests.)
23 And as for the rest of the tribes: from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin, one portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon, one portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar, one portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun, one portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad, one portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, unto the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, saith the Lord Jehovah.
(Verses 30-35: the earthly Jerusalem that will be patterned after the new Jerusalem.)
30 And these are the egresses of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;
31 and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.
(The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel.)
35 It shall be eighteen thousand reeds round about: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Jehovah is there.
(The name of the city from this day forth will be "Jehovah is there" coming from the Hebrew words: Jehovah-shammah.)
(The Book of Ezekiel was the fourth of the five books that made up the major prophet section of the Old Testament. Ezekiel's purpose was to confront Israel while in captivity to confess and repent for her sins. There were four types of prophecies presented in the Book of Ezekiel:
1. Destruction of Jerusalem. (Chapters 1-24)
2. Judgments against other nations. (Chapters 25-32)
3. Events during the Tribulation. (Chapters 33-39)
4. Events during Christ's Millennial Reign. (Chapters 40-48).)
(We have seen the Book of Ezekiel concluded with very specific plans for the layout of Israel and the ordinances for worship during the Millennium. Chronologically, this book has shown us prophecy unto "the end." However, this was the fourth of the five books that made up the major prophet section. Next, we will see that the fifth book of the major prophet section covered the most critical prophecy which dealt with events well before "the end." In fact, we saw God mentioned the author of the next book during the Book of Ezekiel.)
Day 257
Joel,
ReplyDeleteGreat work as always!
I had assumed that the peace during the milinnium would imply there would be no sin. Clearly that is not the case. How will peace continue given that there will be sin during this time?
Tom
Great question Tom!
ReplyDeleteThe peace spoken of here is lack of wars.
Basically, even though people will sin, the presence of Jesus will prevent things getting to the point that people go to war. Remember, the nations would be required to come before Jesus or they wouldn't get rain.
46:12 And when the prince shall prepare a freewill-offering, a burnt-offering or peace-offerings as a freewill-offering unto Jehovah, one shall open for him the gate that looketh toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he doth on the sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.
ReplyDeletewhat's the significance of opening the gate that looketh east while
preparing the burnt offerings and peace offerings?
47:12 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not whither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.
How does this verse apply to today? Is this like Grace? Are we the sanctuary? Would issues of water be like Grace or am I off to think we're like the sanctuary. I know i'm starting from a comparative mindset so I want to see what you guys think?
nathan wayne
Hi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI believe the significance of opening the east gate during offerings is to recognize the offering is to God...to the eventual leader of Israel during the Millennial Reign.
The way the verse focused on healing during the Millennial Reign (and eternity) could be applied to today by seeing the water as grace...via the Holy Spirit. In addition, the fruit and leaves COULD also be applied to today if it is seen as the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. That is also my opinion.
Thank you gentlemen for the amazing comments, questions, and answers. This commentary is better because of your input!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the first two chapters of this post it seems to me that this is speaking not of the Millenium, but of New Jerusalem... Are there going to be sacrifices through eternity? As I understand it, sacrifices were to atone(cover) sin..... but if Christ is among us, what need is there to cover it?
ReplyDeleteAnd second question,
46:16 speaks about princes that give gifts to their sons.
As I see it, very few “families” as we see them today will be intact in New Jerusalem. I say this because some families will lose a father, some a mother, others will lose children, and some a combination. But few (statistically) will be complete families.
So, here is my second question. Will humans be able to have children in New Jerusalem?
If so, how does this fit with marriage to the Bride?
Thanks!
Would you be willing to explain your reasons/support for why you believe those chapters describe the new Jerusalem and not the Millennium?
DeletePart of my support is actually the answer to your questions about sacrifices and families...what would be the contradiction if this was a description of the MiMillennium?
As of rereading the chapters, I can’t say that I recall what thought I had to say that it was specifically speaking of New Jerusalem over Millenium...
ReplyDeleteReading now, it feels that these chapters are talking something more permanent than the Millenium.
HOWEVER, I cannot find a reference to New Jerusalem. It stands to reason that if New Jerusalem were present in a land-dividing situation, it would be mentioned......
However, I would like to hear the support you have!