Yes, two statements that cannot be overlooked!

First, the Glory of Almighty God, which had departed from the Temple back in Ezekiel chapters 10 and 11 … RETURNS! In this yet future Millennial Day, a thousand-year Day, by the way! God then (during the Kingdom Reign of Jesus Christ) chooses to “live” in the Temple! I am talking “Shekinah” Glory style! (A Hebrew verb that means “to dwell” or “to abide!” Not merely “to visit!” Permanence!)

Read every word here: “Afterward he (the angel who had been Ezekiel’s ‘tour’ guide) brought me (the Prophet Ezekiel, of course) to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east (the ‘famed’ Eastern Gate): and, behold, the GLORY of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and THE EARTH SHINED WITH HIS GLORY. And it was according to the appearance of the … vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the GLORY of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the GLORY of the LORD filled the house.” Ezekiel 43:1-5, “filled the House,” the Temple!

What a Day that will be!

Here is Isaiah’s picture of God’s Glory being abundantly evident in this coming Millennial Paradise. “And the LORD will create upon EVERY DWELLING PLACE of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a CLOUD and SMOKE by day, and the shining of a flaming FIRE by night: for upon all the GLORY shall be a defence.” Isaiah 4:5, “Shekinah” everywhere? Each home?

God living with His people!

Here’s how the Lord Himself characterizes His Stay! “And he (the Lord) said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.” Ezekiel 43:7, indeed … God has “moved in!” (His Throne, His Footstool, His Home, Dwelling Place!) In THAT Glorious Temple, that FATHER’S HOUSE … there ARE indeed MANY ROOMS! Read the previous chapter, Ezekiel 42!

Wow!

Then for today, secondly, Ezekiel gives a REASON for all this Millennial Temple “detail!” This is an astounding Passage. Verse 10 begins: “Thou son of man, shew the HOUSE to the house of Israel, that ….” And the “house” being displayed, described, “shown,” is none other that the Temple! The verb “shew” is “nagad,” meaning “to explain, preach, to declare, to expound, to report, to tell, to message!” “Shew” is an imperative here, too. Ezekiel has been COMMANDED to exposit data concerning this Temple, in all its details!

But (again) why?

“That” … which begins a statement of cause. Here is WHY!

“Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, THAT they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the FORM of the house, and the FASHION thereof, and the GOINGS OUT thereof, and the COMINGS IN thereof, and all the FORMS thereof, and all the ORDINANCES thereof, and all the FORMS thereof, and all the LAWS thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may KEEP (obey) the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and DO them.” Ezekiel 43:10-11

God believes this Temple (in all its aspects) plus His Presence … will bring about repentance to all Israel! Make them ashamed for their sins and rebellion!

Introduce to them a sense of HOLINESS they may have never experienced and appreciated before, in al their long history!

Verse 12 also … “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be MOST HOLY. Behold, this is the law of the house.” A mile square! The Biggest Place of Worship I’ve ever known! And best of all … GOD IS THERE!

Holy, Holy, Holy!

Folks, I feel we’ve been on Holy Ground this morning!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Indeed, God saves the “best” for “last!”

 

The Millennial Temple!

That’s what Ezekiel has been describing for us, in great detail.

Today we come to his statement about the overall dimensions of the outer court, outer wall.

“Now when he (an angel) had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east (the eastern gate), and measured it round about. He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place.” Ezekiel 42:15-20

All four directions of the compass, east and north and south and west, in that order.

Clearly the Temple area is a “square,” equidistant in length and breadth.

So was the “Holy of Holies” a square!

So will “New Jerusalem” be a square!”

Consistency, a picture of our great God!

But (best we can tell) how long is a “reed?”

Ezekiel 40:5 answered that question, if you remember. “And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring REED of six cubits long … by the cubit (18 inches) and an hand breadth (3 more inches): so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.”

A reed is six cubits long, with a cubit being the standard cubit PLUS a handbreadth! So we’re talking 21 inches times six … just a little over ten feet in length! (Say ten and a half feet.)

And the Temple (Ezekiel 40-48) is how wide, how long at its greatest dimension? At its outer wall?

Five hundred (500) reeds which equals approximately 5,250 feet, if I’ve done my math correctly!

Right at a mile!

A mile long, each of the Temple’s walls!

Wow!

If we take this literally, which I’m going to do, the coming Millennial Temple will NOT even fit on the current Temple Mount in Jerusalem!

An expansion program will have to be initiated!

Which I think will happen (or at least begin to happen) when Jesus returns to earth, the second time! Not the Rapture now, mind you, but at His glorious Revelation!

Zechariah tells us: “And his (Jesus at His Return) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” Zechariah 14:4, an earthquake! Rearranging the topography of the City of Jerusalem!

Then … there will be room enough for this Temple!

Wow!

It’s a fact, during the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth … the Temple (and its associated worship of the Lord our God) will be a major part of life!

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

That last verse is Revelation 22:20, the very last prayer in the Bible!