seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 43:1 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, 2 and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. 3 The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he[a] came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. 4 The glory of the Lord entered the temple through the gate facing east. 5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. 7 He said: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. The people of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the funeral offerings[b] for their kings at their death.[c] 8 When they placed their threshold next to my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they defiled my holy name by their detestable practices. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now let them put away from me their prostitution and the funeral offerings for their kings, and I will live among them forever.
10 “Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their sins. Let them consider its perfection, 11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations[d] and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.
12 “This is the law of the temple: All the surrounding area on top of the mountain will be most holy. Such is the law of the temple.
13 “These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits,[e] that cubit being a cubit and a handbreadth: Its gutter is a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span[f] around the edge. And this is the height of the altar: 14 From the gutter on the ground up to the lower ledge that goes around the altar it is two cubits high, and the ledge is a cubit wide.[g] From this lower ledge to the upper ledge that goes around the altar it is four cubits high, and that ledge is also a cubit wide.[h] 15 Above that, the altar hearth is four cubits high, and four horns project upward from the hearth. 16 The altar hearth is square, twelve cubits[i] long and twelve cubits wide. 17 The upper ledge also is square, fourteen cubits[j] long and fourteen cubits wide. All around the altar is a gutter of one cubit with a rim of half a cubit.[k] The steps of the altar face east.”
18 Then he said to me, “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: These will be the regulations for sacrificing burnt offerings and splashing blood against the altar when it is built: 19 You are to give a young bull as a sin offering[l] to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who come near to minister before me, declares the Sovereign Lord. 20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and make atonement for it. 21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.
22 “On the second day you are to offer a male goat without defect for a sin offering, and the altar is to be purified as it was purified with the bull. 23 When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. 24 You are to offer them before the Lord, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the Lord.
25 “For seven days you are to provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; you are also to provide a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Footnotes:
a. Ezekiel 43:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts I
b. Ezekiel 43:7 Or the memorial monuments; also in verse 9
c. Ezekiel 43:7 Or their high places
d. Ezekiel 43:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts regulations and its whole design
e. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 21 inches or about 53 centimeters; also in verses 14 and 17. The long cubit is the basic unit for linear measurement throughout Ezekiel 40–48.
f. Ezekiel 43:13 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
g. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 3 1/2 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 105 centimeters high and 53 centimeters wide
h. Ezekiel 43:14 That is, about 7 feet high and 1 3/4 feet wide or about 2.1 meters high and 53 centimeters wide
i. Ezekiel 43:16 That is, about 21 feet or about 6.4 meters
j. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 25 feet or about 7.4 meters
k. Ezekiel 43:17 That is, about 11 inches or about 27 centimeters
l. Ezekiel 43:19 Or purification offering; also in verses 21, 22 and 25
I find it interesting that there is a "long cubit" that is a cubit and a handbreath...... just how long is a handbreath?
Now one thing has been bugging me.... If this is the New Temple.... after the peace agreement and the earthquake that makes the rocks scream..... then Jesus is in charge..... so why are there sacrifices???? Wasn't Jesus the last sacrifice????
Well Bibletrack.org has a response to my question.
Ezekiel goes into some detail giving a description of the altar in the millennial temple and the cleansing sacrifices that will be necessary - just like in the old days with the tabernacle and Solomon's temple. Notice that the Zadok priests are pressed back into action for this. (Click here to see the summary on I Chronicles 6 regarding the significance of Zadok.) Now you might wonder, "Why the sacrifices at all?" They will serve as a memorial of the way things were. We know that sacrifices never eliminated sins; only Christ is capable of doing that. The Old Testament sacrifices previewed Christ's sacrificial death. The millennial sacrifices are, likewise, memorials of Christ's sacrificial death.
Notice other passages where sacrifices are to be offered during the millennium:
As we said, these sacrifices will be offered as memorials and not as sin coverings. It is interesting, though, that the blood never loses its significance during the millennium.
Sure.... animals still gave up their lives for this altar. By now humans are use to the smell of cooking meat. But there is a difference..... in the New Temple.... at the new altar..... they aren't sacrificing these animals to cover sins..... they are sacrificing these animals to celebrate the return to God. When this New Altar gets broken in..... those stupid humans will be reminded of what it's like to have a money grubbing, idol loving, power hungry, human king..... and they will be thrilled to worship God...... the only king they will want is Jesus. They will consider it a privilege to have Jesus as their King of Kings.
