seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 46:1 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. 2 The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship offerings. He is to bow down in worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening. 3 On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of that gateway. 4 The burnt offering the prince brings to the Lord on the Sabbath day is to be six male lambs and a ram, all without defect. 5 The grain offering given with the ram is to be an ephah,[a] and the grain offering with the lambs is to be as much as he pleases, along with a hin[b] of olive oil for each ephah. 6 On the day of the New Moon he is to offer a young bull, six lambs and a ram, all without defect. 7 He is to provide as a grain offering one ephah with the bull, one ephah with the ram, and with the lambs as much as he wants to give, along with a hin of oil for each ephah. 8 When the prince enters, he is to go in through the portico of the gateway, and he is to come out the same way.
9 “‘When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. 10 The prince is to be among them, going in when they go in and going out when they go out. 11 At the feasts and the appointed festivals, the grain offering is to be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and with the lambs as much as he pleases, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.
12 “‘When the prince provides a freewill offering to the Lord—whether a burnt offering or fellowship offerings—the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he has gone out, the gate will be shut.
13 “‘Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning you shall provide it. 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah[c] with a third of a hin[d] of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the Lord is a lasting ordinance. 15 So the lamb and the grain offering and the oil shall be provided morning by morning for a regular burnt offering.
16 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance. 17 If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs. 18 The prince must not take any of the inheritance of the people, driving them off their property. He is to give his sons their inheritance out of his own property, so that not one of my people will be separated from their property.’”
19 Then the man brought me through the entrance at the side of the gate to the sacred rooms facing north, which belonged to the priests, and showed me a place at the western end. 20 He said to me, “This is the place where the priests are to cook the guilt offering and the sin offering[e] and bake the grain offering, to avoid bringing them into the outer court and consecrating the people.”
21 He then brought me to the outer court and led me around to its four corners, and I saw in each corner another court. 22 In the four corners of the outer court were enclosed[f] courts, forty cubits long and thirty cubits wide;[g] each of the courts in the four corners was the same size. 23 Around the inside of each of the four courts was a ledge of stone, with places for fire built all around under the ledge. 24 He said to me, “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple are to cook the sacrifices of the people.”
a. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, probably about 35 pounds or about 16 kilograms; also in verses 7 and 11
b. Ezekiel 46:5 That is, about 1 gallon or about 3.8 liters; also in verses 7 and 11
c. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, probably about 6 pounds or about 2.7 kilograms
d. Ezekiel 46:14 That is, about 1 1/2 quarts or about 1.3 liters
e. Ezekiel 46:20 Or purification offering
f. Ezekiel 46:22 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
g. Ezekiel 46:22 That is, about 70 feet long and 53 feet wide or about 21 meters long and 16 meters wide
So who is this prince? This is from enduringword.com.
The prince shall be in their midst: God’s appointed ruler for Israel in the millennium will be a leader truly among the people. He will be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out.
“The prince will not isolate himself from the people on the feast days but be a part of the crowd.” (Wiersbe)
In this prince, Meyer saw an illustration of the work of Jesus for His people. “He never puts His sheep forth without going before them. He never thrusts us into the fight without preceding us. If we have to take the way of the Cross, we may always count on seeing Him go first, though we follow Him amazed.”
The gate that faces toward the east shall then be opened for him: At special voluntary burnt offerings or voluntary peace offerings, God’s appointed leader for Israel in the millennium will use the east gate.
"If the prince desired to make a freewill offering of a burnt offering of consecration or a fellowship offering of thanksgiving, the east gate was to be opened specially for this act of worship and then closed when he finished.” (Alexander)
Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut: Each specific detail gives more and more evidence that this is meant for some literal fulfillment. The details are meaningless in a merely spiritualized fulfillment. We may not be able to understand what each individual detail means or how it will be fulfilled, but we can trust that it will be.
If the prince gives a gift of some of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance: In the millennial period associated with Ezekiel’s temple, the appointed prince would be able to grant an inheritance to his sons. Yet if he were to give some of his inheritance to one of his servants, it would be gift until the year of jubilee (the year of liberty).
To any of his sons: “The prince will be a married man and will have sons who can inherit his land (Ezekiel 46:16–18).” (Wiersbe)
The year of liberty: “That is, to the year of jubilee, called the year of liberty, because there was then a general release. All servants had their liberty, and all alienated estates returned to their former owners.” (Clarke)
The prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance by evicting them from their property: God’s appointed prince would not abuse or oppress the people. Israel would receive the righteous leadership throughout the millennial period.
The prophet did not want royal property to grow at the expense of ordinary citizens. Ezekiel specifically forbids the prince from giving the property of citizens to his family and friends. If the prince wishes to make a gift of land to anyone, that land must come from his own holdings.” (Vawter and Hoppe)
This is from gotquestions.com.The prince in Ezekiel 46 is not the Messiah. Rather, he seems to be the overseer of Jerusalem, serving under the Messiah’s authority. We know that this prince is not the Lord Jesus because he must make a sin offering for himself as well as the people: “On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land” (Ezekiel 45:22, emphasis added). Whoever the prince is, he is a man with a sinful nature.
According to premillennial, dispensational theology, this section of Ezekiel describes the worship of the Lord that will take place during the future 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth during the millennium (see Revelation 20). Christ will be reigning in Jerusalem. There will be a temple, the massive size of which is detailed by Ezekiel. The prince mentioned in Ezekiel 46, it appears, is the leader of the nation of Israel during this time. He is the representative of the nation of Israel and will bring offerings to the Lord and provide an example of devout worship.
The identity of the prince in Ezekiel 46 is a mystery. Some assume that he will be from the line of David. Whoever he is, he will play an important role in the festivals and worship of the Lord in the millennium. Even in the presence of Jesus reigning on earth, we will need to be reminded of His death and sacrifice for us.
OK... so now at the end of this book there's a mystery man. This man "can't be" the Messiah because he will have sons.... according to the commentary. Now I have to admit.... right now.... this chapter [or I should say these commentaries] leaves me with more questions. I don't want to keep God in a box that limits His abilities..... He is, after all, God. God will cause a peace accord to be signed by Israel.... [which today seems to be an impossible task].... and God will cause an earthquake so massive the rocks will scream in pain..... and then a huge massive beautiful Temple will be plopped [either by design or divine intervention] on a newly formed mountain..... and apparently there will still be sacrifices.... even after Jesus gave His life as our sacrifice..... so we will continue to sin..... so there will still be sin..... I don't want to put God in a box..... I want to think there's a plan to deal with the aftermath of all this.
So.... if there is to be a prince with sons..... the commentaries all say this is not the Messiah because this man has sons. Now if God corrected the death sentence that was handed down in the garden..... why can't the Messiah have sons?
I guess I'll just have to keep reading..... or maybe I'll have to watch and see..... who is this mystery prince???
